


Dogs of War

by Turntechgodliness (AmberzillaRex)



Series: Dog's of War [1]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Fake AH Crew, M/M, Minor Character Death, PTSD, Stalking, violence towards an animal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-05
Updated: 2017-09-01
Packaged: 2018-08-13 06:54:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 38,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7966831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmberzillaRex/pseuds/Turntechgodliness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'Cry 'havoc!', and let slip the dogs of war.'</p><p>Gavin's tried to run from his past, from what happened two years before. He's found a new crew, a new home...a new potential love. But your past always has a way of coming back for you when left unresolved- and no matter how far you run or how big a Bond you have, sometimes it takes a little help to finish things off.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is all miss-ingno and kahnah's fault. Blame them.

It starts, as with most things, with Gavin. 

The hacker had always stated that even though he spent most of his time at the penthouse, he needed to spend his nights at his own apartment. No one had ever really questioned him on it; the Brit was generally very quiet when it came to his personal life, and though he had opened up to the others quite a bit since Geoff had pulled the little rag tag team together to take over Los Santos, none of the other members had ever been to the lad's apartment. Michael had come closest; dropping Gavin off in front of a run down old building with large cast iron balconies, he had joked that the building looked like it could be housing junkies or runaways, barely getting a chuckle out before Gavin had stormed out of the car, stomping his way into the building as a frazzled looking older woman came out of the lobby. No one had ever been in it, and Gavin rarely talked about it or gave any indication that he was planning to leave it...which leant to the look of concern on Jack's face as he leant on his desk, phone held to his ear as he watched Michael and Jeremy wrestling outside the door to his office. 

"You need to...what?" He had been working on the logistics of an arms deal that Burnie had put on the table for Geoff's approval when the call had come through, and he had hardly been able to hear Gavin on the other end of the line with the sounds of sirens in the background. 

"We need to find a new apartment, Jack. Honestly, have you been listening to a word I've said? My flat burnt down. It's...well, it's bloody gone, the fire took everything. Some bloody idiot in 3B left his space heater on, faulty wire caused the fire...whole building just went right up." Gavin's voice barely faltered as he spoke, though his words were spoken quickly with a bit of a harsh rasp. 

"Shit, Gav, are you okay?" Crew came first; Jack had always been a firm believer of taking care of those around him, and Gavin in particular held a soft spot in his heart, like a small child or a pet . "You weren't in your apartment when it happened, were you? Jesus, where are you, I'm coming to get you." Gavin made a noise of discontent, and somewhere in the background came the sound of several animals. 

"I-Bond, please stop, I'm on the phone with Jack- I was asleep, actually. I'm still at my building, I got a bit singed trying to get Miss Lynn from 4A out so the paramedics are forcing me to let them have a look. Could you come? And bring the van, I was able to save the important things. Please." Jack was standing before the request had crossed the line, his keys in hand as he quickly stepped over the two younger men on his floor to head towards the garage. 

"Of course I can come get you. Should I bring one of the others to help you with your stuff? How badly are you burnt?" Michael paused in his roll, giving Jack a curious look as Jeremy lay pinned to the floor, chest heaving. 

"I was only really able to rescue my laptop and a few sentimental things. It shouldn't be too bad to do ourselves but if you want to bring someone I'm okay with that..." Jack could tell from the tone of his voice that Gavin was shaken, and he gestured for the two men to get up and follow him. 

"I'll bring Michael and Jeremy. You didn't answer my question about how badly you're injured, Gavin." Gavin made a dismissive noise, and Jack groaned as he reached the elevator. 

"I'm okay, really. Though I feel like I'm forgetting something..." Jack rolled his eyes, leading the way to the van and unlocking it for the other two men. 

"It can't be too important if you can't remember it. It'll come back to you, dude. We're on our way now; try not to injure yourself further, alright?" Gavin made a noise of discontentment, and Jack chuckled some. 

\------

The thing Gavin had forgotten, it seemed, weighed more than the Brit himself and drooled. Jack stared at the large grey dog warily, taking in the sheer size of the beast whose leash was clipped around Gavin's waist as a paramedic set about patching up the harsh looking burn on the younger man's arm. 

"Gavin, what is that." The dog looked to be a pure bred grey hound- massive, the animal would no doubt be taller than Ryan were it to stand on it's hind legs, it's head more the size of a small wild cat than a domestic dog. The animal watched them cautiously as they approached Gavin, moving to stand in front of him as Jack reached out to touch his shoulder.

"Bond, no boy. They're friends, stand down solider." Jack raised a brow as the dog instantly came off alert, moving to sniff Jack's still outstretched hand. Behind him, Jeremy was inspecting the visible damage to the building- parts of the frame were visible like some sort of macabre skeleton where the wood siding had burnt away to reveal it. The parts that remained were charred and blackened, most of the building completely unsalvageable. 

"Shit, Boi. I'm sorry. I know you liked this place. Was anyone hurt?" Michael's voice was soft as he pulled Gavin up and into his arms as the paramedic finished, his touch surprisingly gentle as he checked the other man out. Gavin pressed his nose into Michael's shirt, taking a slow breath as he let the other mans warmth sink into him. 

"Most of the people made it out but Mr.Reis down the hall got trapped in his bedroom and the...the family next door didn't make it out." His words were muffled some, and Michael rubbed his back even as the dog moved to nuzzle his nose to Gavin's hip with a soft whine. Gavin's hand moved to drop on the dogs head as he pulled away from Michael, reaching to rub his eyes some before turning to Jack. "I don't know what hotels allow dogs and my phones dead." Jack frowned, reaching to wrap an arm around Gavin's shoulder to pull Gavin against him. 

"Gav, you're coming back to the penthouse. You're more than welcome to move in, you know that." Gavin frowned, pressing against Jack's side as he thought the offer over. 

"I'll think about it. I just want to go lay down for now. Can we leave?" Jack nodded, and Jeremy moved to gather the few bags that were set by Gavin's feet. 

"Yeah buddy, we can go. You guys go ahead, I just want to talk to the paramedic a minute okay?" The group turned to make their way back to the van, the dog following close to Gavin as they walked. Reaching the van, Jack watched as Michael opened the door for Gavin to get in, the dog following close after to sit at his feet as Jeremy followed him into the back seat. Michael took his place in the front passenger seat, and Jack turned to the paramedic, watching him put away the bandages he'd used on Gavin for a moment. 

"So, is there anything I should know? Did he only get burnt, was it bad?" The paramedic stood up, his freckled nose wrinkling as he glanced towards the van the others had disappeared into. 

"The bandage on his arm should be changed daily, and he left before I could give him some lotion for it...which you can take, I guess?" He held out the small container in his hand, giving it to Jack as he shouldered his medical bag. "Keep an eye on it, the burn wasn't as bad as it could be, but it could still get infected. If it starts to puss or look weird, bring him into emergency. He inhaled a lot of smoke...guy wouldn't let the emergency personnel bring him out until he was sure the family's across the hall and next to him where rescued. He might get sick, keep an eye on him and his breathing. A little raspiness is normal, but you want to keep an eye on it. Same with coughing or raspy, rattling breathing. He might get nauseous later, so watch out for that; if he does end up vomiting more than once, bring him in. Other than that, lots of fluids and keep him from moving around too much if you can for the next twenty four hours." Jack nodded, and the paramedic smiled at him. "He was pretty lucky. The fire spread pretty fast, but he seemed to have a good emergency plan in place." Jack gave a small smile and a shrug, tucking the lotion into his pocket. 

"That's our Gav, ready for anything. Thanks, uh.." "Caleb." The medic provided, offering his hand with a wink. Jack shook his head, resisting the urge to blush at the young man's attempt at flirting with him. "Caleb. I don't know what I would have done if anything had happened to him." Turning, he made his way back to the van, opening the door and sliding into the drivers side seat. 

"Dude was he flirting with you?" Michael asked, voice tinged with laughter as he leant towards him in his seat. Jack rolled his eyes, reaching to shove Michael away from him before starting the car up. 

"Lets get Gavin back to the penthouse."

+++

After a bit of worried mothering from Jack, Gavin set himself up in the spare bedroom near the conference room, Bond curled up on the floor between the bed and the door as Gavin sorted through the few items he had managed to save. His laptop sat at the end of the bed, along with his bag of external hard drives. He hadn't been able to grab much clothing, and had only gotten as far as stripping out of his soot covered shirt and pants and pulling on one of Ryan's t-shirts that had been stored in the room's dresser before he'd grabbed his things to go through on the bed. He'd managed to get the secured puzzle box that held all his important items; his birth certificate, precious pictures of himself and Dan as children, small things the crew had given him over the years. Tickets from a show Ryan and Jack had taken him to for his birthday, a simple gold chain Michael had stolen for him on a heist, small things that held memories for him that he had gone back into the building for after realizing he'd forgotten it. Besides that, most of his life outside the penthouse had gone up in flames- he almost had as well, if it hadn't been for Bond waking him up. He rolled onto his side, his chest tightening some as he stretched to run a hand along the dogs back. Bond lifted his head some, his ears flicking towards the bed before he turned to watch Gavin with large eyes. 

"Hey boy." Gavin winced some at the harshness of his voice- after remaining silent for a bit, his vocal chords had started to swell a bit from the smoke inhilation, causing his throat to be rather sore. Bonds ears twitched and he shifted to get up, padding his way over to the bed to rest his chin on the mattress next to Gavin's head. Gavin reached to scratch the dog behind the ears, shuffling a little bit closer to press his face to the dogs neck. "Today was awful, wasn't it?" The dog made a noise in the back of his throat, and Gavin shuffled to wrap his arms around his neck, burying his face in the dogs fur. "Everythings gone, Bond. What are we going to do?" There was silence for a long moment before a deep voice startled him. 

"Stay here for awhile. You never mentioned you had a small horse, Gavin." Gavin looked up, squinting at the figure in the doorway as he shifted some to sit up. 

"When did you get in, Ryan?" He asked, Bond sitting up at attention at the newcomer. Ryan offered the dog his hand, flat palmed and slowy, as he approached the bed. Bond sniffed the hand, backing back towards Gavin some with a low growl, and Gavin reached to stroke the dogs neck lightly. "It's okay, boy. Ryan's a friend. Ryan, this is James Bond." Ryan took a step back, and the dog stopped growling.  
"About ten minutes ago. Jack was telling me what happened...are you okay?" Blue eyes searched over Gavin's body and the younger man flushed, pulling the blanket up over his legs and lap. 

"Bit singed, but I'll live I'm told." Ryan raised an eyebrow, shifting a bit closer cautiously as Bond moved to curl up beside Gavin's bed. 

"You sound like shit. How much smoke did you inhale? Did a paramedic look at you?" Gavin cast a small smile at the older man's concern; the hitman had been out on a mission for the past few days, and it was nice that he was back with the crew again. 

"Yes, a paramedic looked at me. He said I should be alright, but that I might feel ill later once the adrenaline wears off. My chest hurts quite a bit..." He absently rubbed his chest as he glanced at the box still sitting on the right side pillow of the bed. Reaching for it, he set it on the table before patting the bed next to him for Ryan to sit with him. The older man made his way onto the bed, pausing to shed his jacket to drape over the dresser before crawling onto the bed beside Gavin. They sat like that for a moment, the silence hanging heavy between them until Bond moved to climb onto the bed, his massive form attempting to squish between Gavin and Ryan. Gavin snorted, reaching to push at the dog, and Ryan gave a surprised look to the animal as the dog placed his head in Ryan's lap. "Oh, look Ryan, he likes you!" The dog made a whining noise until Ryan reached to scratch behind his ear, and Gavin shifted to give a yawn as he leaned against the older man. 

"Has Geoff seen this elephant you brought here yet?" Ryan asked teasingly as he listened to Gavin's ragged breathing. He sounded a bit wet with each breath; he'd have to talk to Jack about keeping a close eye on the hacker. 

"No. He wasn't here when we got in...he'll meet him tomorrow though." Ryan gave a hum, watched as Gavin's eyes drooped some. "M'tired, Rye." Ryan shifted to lean back against the headboard, pulling Gavin gently to lay down with him.

"You get some sleep, Gav. We can worry about Geoff in the morning." Gavin made a noise of agreement, settling against Ryan and letting his eyes close as Bond shifted on the bed, causing it to creak. "I think your dogs going to break the bed though." Gavin made a dismissive noise, burying his face into Ryan's side as Bond rested his head back in the older man's lap. Sighing, Ryan draped his arm over Gavin's shoulder, ruffling his hair some and letting his hand drop onto the dogs head. It didn't take long for soft snores to fill the air, and Ryan took a moment to check the younger man over once more.  
As much as his reputation would state otherwise, he was fond of his crew. He liked them a lot- cared when they were hurt, was happy when they were. The Vagabond was a mask, and behind it, Ryan had found that the seven man crew made it easy to just be himself when there was no one around for him to kill. When Jack had called him earlier, he had been worried about the Brit. Seeing that he was mostly alright put Ryan's mind at ease, though the large dog had been a surprise. He wondered what Geoff would think about the dog, or if Geoff might have already known about him. Out of all of the crew, Geoff seemed to have known Gavin the longest; according to their fearless leader, he had come across Gavin several years before the Fake AH Crew had come into existence. 

Gavin shifted slightly, giving a harsh cough before pressing closer to Ryan's side, and Ryan shook the thoughts from his head. Whether Geoff had known about Bond or not would be settled in the morning; for now, sleep was probably a good idea. He was exhausted from the mission Geoff and Burnie had sent him on, truthfully, but he didn't want to wake Gavin up by getting out of the bed-though from the looks of it, Bond had no plans to let him leave regardless. He settled back, closing his eyes. 

Tomorrow, he had some investigating to do.


	2. React Naturally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Dreams aren't always just dreams, though, are they?" Gavin glanced up, watching Ryan hesitantly as the older man gave a small shrug. "Who's Dan?"

Cold. Cold and dark. Everything felt fuzzy; his head hurt so bad that it almost cancelled out the pain of the rest of his body. He was seated, that was certain, arms tied behind him. It took him several moments to open his eyes, a sinking feeling settling in his stomach as though he was already aware of what he'd see. He struggled in the chair to no avail; he was stuck. Trapped. Even with his eyes wide open, the room was dark- silent except for a static sound in front of him. He wanted to call out, but the damp cloth balled in his mouth and secured there by a piece of duct tape kept him from making more than some muffled noises. 

Suddenly, brightness. 

A screen flickered to life before him; almost larger than life, but no bigger than your average computer monitor. The video filtered through in black and white, tinged with the greenish undertone of a security feed that he was so familiar with. The image focused, and he gasped- the figure tied to the chair in on the screen was heart-wrenchingly familiar, even slumped over. Dark hair, ruffled and matted with what he could only assume was blood. Bruises discoloring his pale skin, his clothing torn. 

Dan. 

"He's suffering because of you, Mr. Free. Because the two of you thought you were much better than you truly are. Whose idea was it to hack into the security cameras again?" Gavin gave a whimper, his eyes not leaving the screen. He knew what was about to happen. Somehow, he knew. ""It wasn't yours. Was it Mr. Gruchy's? Or someone else? He's clearly the muscle here." There was a cocking of a gun, though it sounded static and far away. On screen, a body moved in front of Dan, arm raised. 

"Please don't." He knew that pleading was worthless, but it was all he had. "Take me instead. Don't- he's not the one behind all of this. I'll work for you directly. I'll do whatever you want, just please...please." A dark laugh, and the image on the screen zoomed in. 

"I don't want you, Free. You're worthless to me, just as your companion is. You should have known better than to try your hand in something outside of your range of skill. And now, your friend is going to die for your sins." Gavin made a keening sound, struggling in his seat. "And you'll be set free in America. If you ever return to the United Kingdom again, you ever do anything to endanger our mission here, the MI5 will hunt you down. You are no longer welcome in this country, nor are you welcome as an agent of this service. Her Majesty has no use for free thinkers going outside of protocol." Gavin's focus remained on the screen, almost numb as he watched the figure on the screen pull the trigger. 

As he watched Dan's body jolt at the force of the first, then second bullet driving into it. 

As he hear the sound of someone screaming, only realizing after a moment that it was himself screaming Dan's name. 

"Gavin...Gavin, wake up. Gavin, wake up damnit, you're having a nightmare." 

Gasping, Gavin jolted up in bed, his entire body shaking as he clutched at the body next to him. The room was still dark, Bond sat beside the bed watching him carefully as beside him, Ryan rubbed his arm cautiously. 

"It was just a dream, Gavin. Whatever it was, it was just a dream. You're okay." Gavin nodded slightly, leaning into the warmth of the body next to him as he took slow, steadying breaths in an attempt to calm down. It had been a dream, this time. He was safe, laying in bed with Ryan. 

With Ryan.

"Have you been in here since I fell asleep?" He winced; his voice sounded rough, and it hurt to talk very loud. Ryan gave a small shrug, shifting to sit up better against the headboard as he reached to flick on the bedside light. 

"Seemed like the best way to make sure you were alright. Are you?" Gavin gave a small shrug, his mind still stuck in the imagery of the dream. He hadn't really thought about Dan in almost three months now- it felt like a betrayal to realize that, and he shivered some at the thought. 

"S'just a dream, innit?" He asked, staring at his lap as his fingers picked at the edge of the blanket. Ryan frowned, turning to face him properly to watch him silently for a long moment. 

"Dreams aren't always just dreams, though, are they?" Gavin glanced up, watching Ryan hesitantly as the older man gave a small shrug. "Who's Dan?" Gavin stiffened, and beside him, Bond gave a low growl. Ryan backtracked, hands raised as he cleared his throat some. "Sorry. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." Gavin curled into himself slightly, turning away from Ryan as he stared hard at the far wall. 

"I don't." Ryan nodded, and Bond moved to rest his head on Gavin's lap, giving a soft whine. "I don't want to talk about it. Can we just- let's just go back to sleep okay? I want to go to sleep." Turning onto his side, he curled up, startling slightly as he felt Ryan settle behind him, a heavy arm dropping on his waist. 

"Alright. But you don't have to go through whatever this is alone, alright? Whenever you're ready to talk about it." They lay in silence for several minutes, Ryan's arm tucked around Gavin as they both settled into bed, before Gavin spoke, his words almost too quiet to hear in the darkness. 

"Why are you being so nice to me?" It was weird- Ryan had never really seemed like the physically comforting type, though he was generally a lot nicer to the crew members than his Vagabond persona would seem to any outsider. Gavin had always felt as though he annoyed the older man, though Ryan seemed to be the only one to play along with his silly bouts of 20 Questions. 

"You're hurt. I was...worried, when Jack contacted me. He didn't say if you were alright. So now I'm making sure you're alright. And I know what those sort of dreams are like..." He trailed off, and Gavin made a soft noise before reaching to drop his hand on the arm around him. "Let's just try to get some more sleep, okay? You're going to feel pretty shitty in the morning." Gavin made a noise of agreement, and Ryan reached to turn the light off again, the two settling to fall into a light slumber.   
+++

"Where is he?" 

Gavin groaned at the loud voice outside his door, turning slightly to bury his face into his pillow as beside him, Bond gave a low, gruff bark. 

"I think he's still asleep. Geoff don't just barge in th-" Gavin groaned again as his door was shoved open, peering out from under the pillow to look blearily at the figure standing over his bed. Dark suit, tattoo's barely visible and a mustache that was all to familiar had him shifting to sit up, frowning as he rubbed at his eyes. 

"Geoff it's too bloody early for you to be yelling like that. M'right here, what do you want?" Geoff took a moment to just take Gavin in, eyes roaming over him as though taking category of any injuries he had. 

"Jack told me you're fucking apartment burnt down last night with you in it. Excuse me if I had a moment of panic." Gavin rolled his shoulders, shifting on the bed to pat beside him for Geoff to sit. The older man moved towards the bed, stilling as his gaze settled on Bond. "What the hell is that." Gavin frowned, turning his gaze to Bond for a moment. 

"Bond. You know about Bond, I've told you about Bond." Geoff edged closer to the bed, brows furrowed as he held his hand out for the dog to sniff. 

"Yeah, but I didn't expect him to be here, Gavin. Jesus. This is a criminal base, not a pet motel." Gavin pouted, reaching to pet Bond's head lovingly as the dog began to growl at Geoff's tone. 

"Shh, Geoffrey. You're going to make him upset. He's been trained to protect me, and he's very important to me...don't make me send him away." Geoff sighed, running a hand through his hair before reaching to pull Gavin flush against him into a one armed hug. 

"He can stay so long as he doesn't cause any problems. Jack said you got out relatively okay considering someone decided to attempt stupid heroics. What am I going to do with you, kid?" Gavin gave a hum, leaning against Geoff as he gave a little shrug. 

"Adore me?" Geoff snorted, and Gavin grinned before giving a cough. "What's for breakfast?" Geoff chuckled, squeezing Gavin gently. 

"Pancakes and sausages. Jack wants to re-wrap your arm after you eat, and then we have a meeting...I've had some inside information leak through to me that you might be interested in." Gavin's brow rose, and Geoff shrugged as he moved to stand up. "You'll see in the meeting. Now get your ass up and out of bed. Ryan's already out there and Lil J is setting up the meeting room, and Ray and Michael are going to be getting here soon. Apparently they decided to have a late night of video games and whatever the fuck else it is they do for fun last night." Gavin nodded, moving to swing his legs over the side of the bed, and Geoff cleared his throat before giving a little wave at him. "Might, uh, want to put some pants on there, buddy. Boxers aren't really the sort of business casual we wanna aim for here." Gavin reached to throw a pillow at Geoff, who burst into laughter and ducked out the door as the Brit moved to put on some proper clothing, pulling on a pair of sweat pants and a large t-shirt that had appeared during the night. Padding his way out into the kitchen, he plopped himself down onto one of the kitchen chairs, pleased to see his favorite mug filled with tea and waiting for him. 

"Good morning, Gavin. How are you feeling today?" Jack's gentle smile greeted Gavin as he looked up at the words, offering Jack a smile as he reached to take the plate held out for him. The food smelt delicious, and he set the plate down on the table and reached for his fork as he responded to the question. 

"Okay. A bit like that one time I had pneumonia, but I think I'm alright. This looks delicious, thanks Jack." Jack smiled warmly, settling in the seat across from Gavin as beside him, Ryan took a sip of his coffee and turned the page in the newspaper he was reading. 

"That's good. Geoff told you about the meeting?" Gavin nodded, taking a mouthful of pancake and shoving it in his mouth with a blissful sigh. Geoff must have made the pancakes- Gavin could taste the mans signature whiskey syrup. "Good, good. There's been some information from the UK that's come through to us. Don't know what we're going to do with it, since we're not based over there, but Geoff figures we can take a look into it." Gavin gave Jack a curious look, one of which the red haired man waved off, and somewhere down the hall the main door opened. 

"Heyo, where is everyone? I smell pancakes." Michael's voice echoed down the hall, and the sound of heavy footsteps announced the path he took with Ray into the kitchen to join them, dropping into the chair next to Gavin and reaching to half pull the hacker from his chair into a hug. "You look a bit better today, Boi. I'm pleased." Ray settled in the chair next to Jack, giving Gavin a nod before reaching to steal Jack's glass of juice to take a long sip. 

"Feel a bit better, too. Morning, Ray." Ray gave a grunt, hand Jack back his now half empty cup before reaching to steal one of Gavin's sausages. 

"Morning dude. Michael told me about last night...I'm glad you're okay." Gavin nodded, giving Ray a small smile as he pulled his plate closer to himself, stuffing another bite of pancake into his mouth. "What do you guys think this meetings about? Jack? You wanna fill us in?" Jack shrugged, taking his glass to finish off his juice before standing up. 

"I guess you'll just have to find out once we get in the meeting. Finish up your food, Gavin. Michael, Ray, go to the conference room and see if Jeremy's done yet." Ray and Michael gave a mock salute, and Jack rolled his eyes as they made their way down the hall. Turning to Ryan, the silent man raised a brow as Jack gestured for him to follow the two younger men. "We'll be in once Gavin's done eating and I've re-wrapped his arm. " Ryan nodded, folding his paper and taking his coffee with him as he moved to follow the others, leaving Jack and Gavin alone in the room. 

"I'm okay, Jack. Really." Gavin's voice was muffled slightly by the mouthful of food he was talking about, and Jack frowned as he moved to the seat next to the Brit. 

"I'm glad you think so, but you're arm's still in pretty bad shape. We have to re-wrap it before we go into the meeting, and I want you to take your inhaler." Gavin frowned; the inhaler had remained untouched for nearly all two years he'd been fully with the crew, and while he could feel the rattle in his chest that signaled that he should use the device, he hated to do so. Jack's face left little room to argue, though, and Gavin sighed as he finished up his meal. 

"Alright, mum. I'll take my inhaler. Do I get to know what the meetings about yet?" Jack shook his head, and Gavin sighed deeper as he stood to take his plate to the sink. "I didn't think so. Let's go do this then, shall we?" Jack stood to follow Gavin, the two heading into the bathroom to fix Gavin's arm up. 

Gavin was curious as to what the meeting was about. The sooner he let Jack have his way, the sooner he'd get to know what Geoff was so excited about.


	3. The Meeting

"Does anyone know what the MI5 is?" Geoff stood at the head of the table in the conference room, arms crossed over his chest as he looked at the group sat around the table. Several of the group looked confused, Gavin seemed to pale as Ryan lifted a hand to catch his attention. 

"Basically the British secret service or something, isn't it?" Geoff nodded as Ryan's words, moving to sit in his own seat as he placed a file folder on the table before him.

"Basically. Word around town is that they've been poking around Los Santos looking for something. Typically, we'd just leave them be and wait for them to be on their way, but they've seemingly taken an interest in our heists according to Joel. I don't recall having done anything to warrant their attention, do any of you?" One by one they shook their heads, and Geoff sighed. "They've already took all of the information that LSPD had on us. So I'd like for everyone to lay low until I can get more information. All we need is, uh...what are they called? Gav, who's the FBI over there? Enderpoll?" Gavin shifted in his seat, clearing his throat as he folded his hands in his lap. 

"Interpol. And they're an international police force. I'm not sure why... why would they be looking into us? I always make sure that I know who we're stealing from... this doesn't make any sense, Geoff." He frowned, reaching for the file folder to open it up. Inside were notes on MI5's movements, what information they had on the group and who they had talked to. A deep chill went through him as he pulled up the grainy security footage that had himself and Michael in it, and he let the photo fall back to the table as he took a slow breath.

"Have we gotten any word on who they might be looking for in the group?" Ray's voice interrupted Gavin's thoughts, and he glanced over at the sniper. Ray sat with his legs over the left arm of his chair, feet swinging idly as he watched Gavin carefully. 

"Not really. But British secret service... you uh, got anything to tell us there Gav?" Geoff's entire being screamed caution, and Gavin sank back in his seat as all eyes fell on him. Silence settled over the room for a long moment before Gavin spoke. 

"I haven't a clue why they're here looking into us." His tone was firm, and behind him, Bond- who had curled up by the door- let out a low growl. Geoff shot a look at the dog, frowning as he turned his attention back to the younger man. Gavin stared back, catching Geoff off guard as he leant forward to slide the folder away from him. "Is that all this meeting was for?"

"For the most part. Like I said, I want everyone to stay low key until we figure out what's going on with these assholes. I don't need anyone getting brought in. Alright?" The group nodded, and Gavin moved to push his chair away from the table. 

"If we're finished?" He asked, nodding towards the door. Geoff nodded, and Gavin got up to leave, Bond following him out of the room. The door swung shut behind him, and there was silence for a moment before Michael slapped a hand down on the table. 

"That was weird, right? Something's totally up with him, I'm not just imagining that right?" Jack sighed, and Ryan leant back in his seat some as he gave a thoughtful hum. 

"He had a nightmare last night." All eyes turned to him, and he crossed his arms over his chest. "Something about someone named Dan? Does that name mean anything to anyone?" Geoff shook his head, and Jack frowned as he thought the name over. It sounded familiar...

"Geoff, didn't Gavin say that he use to run around London with someone named Dan?" Geoff made a face, trying to recall if Gavin had ever mentioned anything like that. 

"Maybe? I don't know. Either way, maybe the nightmare and all this is connected... but if he doesn't want us to know about it yet, we aren't going to find any information on it. You know how he is. He's good at hiding things." There were noises of agreement from around the room, and Geoff moved towards the door. "Meeting ajourned, I guess." 

+++

Gavin sat in his room, blanket pulled around his shoulder and Bond seated on the floor beside the bed. He wasn't sure how he felt with the situation; he had always done his best to steer the crew clear of anything to do with MI5 or Interpol, worried that his past would come back to haunt him. It made no sense to him that they'd be there looking for him- he hadn't done anything, and they had claimed that he would be left to his own devices when he had been dropped off in the middle of a field outside of a small town in Alabama. 

Bond pressed his nose to Gavin's knee, and Gavin reached to scratch behind the dogs ear. If the crew did as Geoff asked and stayed low, there was a chance that the agents from MI5 would lose interest and move on. He had planted traces of himself all along the route from Alabama to Los Santos, and a part of him wondered if Geoff remembered how skittish he had been on the drive. 

"Gav?" A knock on his door startled him, and he shifted on his bed as he turned towards the door. 

"Yeah?" The door pushed open, and Ray peered into the room. Gavin gestured for him to enter, and the puerto rican moved to sit on the end of the bed. 

"You alright?" Gavin shrugged, and Ray fixed him with a look. "Seriously, dude. You sort of took off there. You know you can tell us whatever, right? We're a team. We're gunna look out for you." Gavin tightened his fists in the blankets, giving a little nod. 

"I know. I just... I'm pretty tired, Ray. I got a bit overwhelemed. It's a bit weird, MI5 coming to America yeah? I'm pretty curious as to what's brought them over. Do you think that Geoff will let me look into it to see what they're doing?" Ray gave a little shrug, stretching out over the bed and letting a hand pat Bond's head lightly. 

"I dunno dude, maybe. But I think it's a good idea to lay low. Maybe we should take a break or something, cool it on the heists until they leave. Keep you out of their sights." Gavin gave a nod, leaning back on his pillows before he paused, staring at Ray. The younger man was putting on a good act of being casual, but Gavin could catch the small glances, the stiffness to his shoulders at his own words as though on edge. 

"Why are you really in here, Ray?" Ray chuckled, sitting up and turning to face Gavin with a sharp look as he pat Bond's head.

"You're smart, Vav. Why do you think I'm in here?" Gavin watched him a moment, mind racing over possible reasons Ray had come into his room. The sniper was far smarter than he tend to let on, and Gavin hesitated as he waited for Ray to give him something to go on. "C'mon, man. You already figured it out." Gavin sighed, running a hand through his hair as he settled back against the pillows, watching Ray carefully. 

"You want to know about my past with the MI5." Ray gave a short nod, and Gavin shifted some to bring himself closer to Bond. Had anyone else followed him into the room, he would have been slightly heistant about revealing too much information to someone. But Ray was a different sort of person from the others- the quick wits, sharp eyes and a quiet intelligence that had molded him into the perfect sniper the FAHC was famous for also had him as Geoffs second go-to for anything related to information gathering. He was a good tell if someone was lying; even someone as experienced as Gavin. 

"I'm a little curious, yeah. But I'm also worried, dude. If these people are looking for you, I need to know what to watch for. Gotta protect you, right? You still owe me a hundred bucks." Gavin rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he brought his knees to his chest to rest his chin on as he watched the other man get comfortable on the bed. 

"You can't tell anyone what I tell you, Ray. If I'm going to tell you anything, you have to promise me that you won't run off and tell Geoff or Jack or Ryan. Not even Michael or Jeremy can know, do you understand? Not just for me, but for their sakes. If I tell you about my past, it puts you in danger. If they find out anything I tell you, Ray..." He trailed off, his mind flashing to Dan, tied in the chair. Dan who he couldn't save.

"Dude. Dangers my middle name." Gavin shot him a look, and Ray raised his hands innocently. "I promise. I swear on my xbox that I won't tell anyone unless you tell me it's alright or it's vital to keeping you hella safe, alright?" Gavin nodded, then gave a snort as he threw a pillow at Ray. 

"I know for a fact that you don't even have a middle name, so don't even start with that. And... alright. I suppose I can tell you a bit about before I came to America..." He shifted to get comfortable, clearing his throat as Bond shifted to place his chin on Gavin's knee. Ray moved to sit next to Gavin, resting back on the pillows beside him as Gavin tried to gather his thoughts some. He could lie, of course- Ray was smart, but Gavin's ability to lie came as naturally as breathing to him, and Ray would have a hard time calling bullshit on him. He could change his mind and refuse to answer, but he knew if he did that he'd just wind up pushing Ray into looking into it on his own. That left obfuscation, a simple twisting of facts to keep Ray from digging deeper. 

"Remember, none of this leaves this room..."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember kids; never steal someone's service dog. It's not cool. (Also hi I still don't have internet so shout out to my friend Izzy whose letting me use her internet and eat her food. Well. She's letting me use her internet, I'm eating her food as an added friend bonus :D ) Also shout out to miss-ingno because CABBAGE.

"Back in the UK, I did a lot of work for different people. Gangs, the police, a few activist groups. I had a partner, the brawn to my brains people use to say... we worked well together. Had a lot of good times, had some not so good ones..." Gavin spoke softly, Ray hanging onto his every word as he played with Bond's ears. "We got involved with hacking the MI5's internal system... and they caught us. I came to America." Details needed be added; Ray could question all he wanted, but Gavin hadn't technically lied. 

"So you were... what, a big thing in the U.K? How come we never heard of you before Geoff brought you in then?" Gavin scoffed, leaning back against the headboard and turning his gaze to the ceiling. 

"Not a very stealthy hacker if everyone and their mum's heard of you by your actual name, hmm? Ever hear of the Slow Mo guys?" Ray's brow quirked, and he shifted to sit up. 

"Yeah. Did a bunch of heists across Europe, had a lot of people looking for them. They went off the grid, what, two years ago now?" Gavin nodded, and Ray hummed slightly as he thought on Gavin's words. "And your partner? Are they in America too?" Gavin frowned, shaking his head as he reached to pat Bond's head. 

"No." Ray opened his mouth to ask more questions, but paused at the look on Gavin's face. Gavin glanced at him, offering him a small smile. "But it doesn't matter. I don't... I don't know why they'd be looking for me all of a sudden if that's what they're doing. It's been two years. They could have come for me sooner. We haven't even touched anything that would fall under their district, it doesn't make any sense." He was confounded; and from the looks of it, Ray had no answers for him. "Do you think laying low is going to keep them from finding me? Honestly, Ray. Do you?" Ray hesitated a moment before giving a small shake of his head, frowning. 

"Honestly? Not really. From what I heard, if they're looking for you, they're not going to stop until they find you. We might have to straight up go into hiding or something... you gotta tell Geoff, dude. For everyone's safety." Gavin squirmed, letting his gaze drift towards the door as Ray's words sank in. If he told everyone, then he'd have to explain everything. Explain about the MI5, about his work with them, about Dan. He didn't want to drag up the past, but...Ray had a point. Geoff had to know about it, had to for the safety of everyone in the crew.

"You're right. I just... Have you ever noticed how when people learn about things that you did, they treat you differently?" He was hesitant, and Ray shifted to lean closer to Gavin as he flapped Bond's ears to break the tension some. 

"We aren't gunna treat you any differently, dude. We already know you. What you did in the past only helped shaped who you are today, and other lame bullshit sayings that I'm pretty sure Jack has memorized for just this occasion." Gavin couldn't help but smile at that- somehow, Ray always knew how to make him feel a bit better about situations that felt too overwhelming. "We've all done shit we aren't proud of. Or shit we shouldn't be proud of but totally are, in Michael and Ryan's case. Whose that proud of lighting an entire football field on fire? Weirdos, both of them." Gavin chuckled, and Ray beamed at him. 

"I'll go talk to Geoff. Thanks for this, Ray. Really." Ray's expression softened slightly, and he fell forward some to face plant into Gavin's shoulder. 

"No problem, man. We gotta stick together, us small hiding types." Gavin nodded, reaching to give Ray a little shove off of him as he moved to get up. Ray flopped over to lay on the bed, squirming until he was pressed against the dog. "I'm gunna chill here with Bond while you do that. We're going to bond and be bros if that's cool." Gavin nodded, though the thought of Bond being away from him and still in the same building tugged at him a moment before he turned to go out into the hall. 

Little steps. He was use to Bond being back at his own apartment during the day, hadn't needed the dog to be with him 24-7 in almost two years now, but the fire had thrown him off more than he'd like to admit. The information that the MI5 were looking into the crew had shaken him, and he could feel the tightness in his chest that heralded a panic attack sometime in his future. Pushing the feeling down, he set off down the hall in search of Geoff. The older man wasn't difficult to find; Gavin turned the corner into the living room and immediately spotted Geoff sprawled out on the couch, snoring softly with an arm over his eyes. Gavin couldn't help the smile at the sight- he could remember when he had first met Geoff, how the other man had been wary still of sleeping around his new crew. Making his way to the couch, he watched Geoff sleep peacefully for a moment before grinning, leaping onto the older man with a yell. Geoff flailed and nearly fell off the couch as he woke suddenly, and Gavin laughed as the older man focused on his attacker with a groan. 

"Goddamnit Gavin, I was taking a nap. What do you want?" Gavin settled over Geoff, straddling him and effectively keeping him pinned to the couch as he crossed his arms over his chest, frowning. 

"Don't we have work to do, Geoffrey? What's this napping thing now?" Geoff made a face, and Gavin's own expression grew more serious. "But really...the MI5. We should talk about them. I...er, I suppose I know a bit more about them than I previously let on...Ray's already sorted me out about it, sort of. I just... we really should talk, Geoff." Geoff's irritated look faded to a more concerned one, and he shifted to sit up better as he rested his hands on Gavin's waist to keep the slighter man from toppling off of him. 

"What about the MI5, Gavin?" Gavin fidgeted slightly, and Geoff let him take a moment before he answered him. 

"They're sort of the reason I'm in America." Geoff's brow rose, and Gavin gave a small shrug at his curious look. "You remember how I said I'd hacked into the wrong thing and that was why I was here? It was the MI5 internal database. I wasn't even really on a job, I just wanted to see if I could do it, and they... didn't really like that I was able to do it." Geoff frowned, leaning back against the arm of the couch as he took in Gavin's words. 

"This was back with your old partner, right?" Gavin nodded, and Geoff gave a small hum. "Was his name Dan? Ryan said you had a nightmare, something about someone named Dan." Gavin nodded again, a bit more hesitantly this time. Geoff was encroaching on territory he wasn't sure he was comfortable sharing yet. Geoff watched him a moment before nodding for him to go on and speak. 

"Yeah. But I don't know why they'd be interested in looking me up now, which is why I don't know if this is about me or the crew... but it can't just be a coincidence can it?" Geoff shrugged, and Gavin made a noise before shifting to lay on top of the older man. 

"I dunno Gav. But I appreciate you telling me that you have a past with them. Knowing that might help us somehow. How are you feeling? Your arm doing okay?" Gavin shrugged a little, pressing his face into Geoff's shoulder. Their relationship had grown quickly over the past two years; from coworkers to boss-and-employee to an almost parental feeling on Geoff's side over the Brit. Gavin had soaked up the affection Geoff gave him eagerly, and even now that they had a inner crew of seven, there was still a special bond between the two men that couldn't be broken. 

"It hurts. Everything still sort of hurts. My throat feels like it's been lit on fire and then put out with molasses. It's awful, Geoff." Geoff snorted at the description, letting a hand fall on Gavin's back to stroke patterns over it slowly. Gavin took a slow, relaxed breath, the sensation causing him to zone slightly. 

"Well, I'm not surprised. No more heroics, okay? Shit, Gav... apparently the paramedic told Jack you tried to go back in a few times. You gotta let the professional's do their jobs when it comes to shit like this. You're not a firefighter. You could have been hurt more than you already were. No more of that bullshit." Gavin hummed, finding it ironic that Geoff was lecturing him in the hazards of heroics when their daily lives revolved around dangerous heists. But he knew Geoff was simply looking out for him- he must have scared him. 

"Sorry. Geoffers. I promise, no more running into burning buildings unless absolutely necessary." Geoff gave a snort, and Gavin let himself fall back into the sensation of Geoff's hand moving on his back. They lay like that for a moment before Gavin stirred again, glancing up at Geoff's peaceful face. "Geoff... you won't tell anyone about the MI5, right? I don't want everyone knowing if we can help it..." Geoff tilted his head to look at Gavin a moment, a slight frown touching his lips. 

"I guess we could keep it quiet buddy, but I don't know why you'd want to. That's a pretty impressive task to have broken into the MI5's database. I'd have thought you'd be wanting to brag about it." Normally, the older man would have had a point; Gavin loved to brag about his accomplishments, to make himself seem bigger and more important than was strictly necessary. But his past was another story; there was no glory to be found in the fact that he had gotten his best friend killed. 

"There's some things involved that I'd rather keep quiet about, yeah? Things I don't really want to think too hard on. " Geoff gave a hum, and Gavin settled back against him again. The nice thing about Geoff, he had come to find early on in their friendship, was that he asked little questions once he trusted someone. 

"Alright. I won't ask, but if you ever want to talk about it, you know I'm here." Gavin made a noise of agreement, and the two settled into silence once more.

+++

"Hey Gav, I think Bond needs to go walkies, you wanna take him or sho-" Ray's words caught in his throat as he paused in the living room entrance, eyes on the two bodies sprawled out over the couch. A smile crossed his lips as he edged closer, the dog following behind him as he moved to lean over the side of the couch. "Aww, ain't that sweet." He pulled his phone out of his pocket, snapping several pictures to send to the other crew members before tucking his phone back into his jeans pocket. Turning towards the dog, he watched as Bond moved to inspect Gavin's sleeping form on the couch before plopping himself down. Frowning, Ray shook the leash in his hand at the dog. 

"Oh come on. You were rarin' to go like five seconds ago. He's fiiine. Geoff's got him, and I don't want you to shit in the bathroom or something. Like, seriously. Bond. Let's go." The dog stared at him a long moment before getting back up, licking Gavin's arm before turning towards the door. Ray rolled his eyes, clipping the leash to the dogs collar and making his way out of the building and down to the first floor, meeting up with Ryan and Jeremy in the lobby. 

"Oh hey, you taking Bond for walkies?" Jeremy asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he stretched his arms over his head. Ray nodded, and Jeremy glanced at Ryan as the older man finished checking the mail box for the penthouse. 

"Yeah man, you wanna come with? Might need some more muscle if he sees a squirrel or something." Jeremy grinned, nodding as Ryan tucked the mail under his arm before turning to give them a look. 

"Does Gavin know you're taking his dog for a walk, Ray?" Ray hesitated a moment, glancing at Bond before turning his gaze back to Ryan. 

"Not really but Bond has to go and Gav's finally asleep, dude. Geoff's with him, they're taking a nap on the couch and I didn't want to wake him up where you said he didn't sleep too good last night. He'll be fine." Ryan made a face, and Ray sighed. "What? What do you want to say about this situation because I know that face, that's your 'oh Ray you naive bastard you know not what you say' face. Spit it out." Ryan leaned against the wall housing the mail boxes, quiet a moment while he gathered his thoughts. 

"You know that Bond's not a pet, don't you Ray? You can't treat him like he is." Ray frowned, turning his gaze to watch the dog thoughtfully a moment. 

"What do you mean?" Ryan shook his head, moving to pat Bond's head as he gestured to the tag on his collar. 

"Bond's a service dog, Ray. You shouldn't just take someone's service dog without asking. Gavin clearly has him for a reason; maybe he has PTSD, or maybe for a different reason, but Bond is trained to take care of him. You can tell by how he acts when Gavin's around. Attentive, focused... I have to say, I'm actually pretty impressed with how professional he is considering it was most likely Gavin who trained him. Unless someone else trained him for Gavin..." he trailed off, and Ray bent some to look at the tag. Sure enough, the words 'service dog, please ask to pet' were inscribed on the metal tag, and Ray flushed slightly in embarrassment. 

"Well he never said Bond was a service dog, what am I, a mind reader? Shit. Should I bring him back up or like.." Ryan shook his head, reaching out to pat Ray's shoulder lightly. 

"No, go take him for a walk. If there's any damage from this, you just sort it out with Gavin. I'll go upstairs in case he wakes up and goes looking for the dog." Ray nodded, and Ryan turned to head up to the penthouse as the two men made their way outside with the dog, both talking animatedly about the latest video games coming out.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logic rarely dictated through anxiety, though, and Gavin couldn't bring himself to lift his hand to turn the door handle and open the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the long wait on this chapter guys. Two weeks ago I suffered four grand mal seizures and I've been working on getting my life back to normal since. But we are back on track baby! The next chapter shouldn't take as long since I have a proper keyboard now :D

Gavin awoke with a start, blinking in a panic as he struggled to sit up. He was laying on the couch, a throw blanket tangled around his legs as he pushed himself up slightly from the cushions, and he took a slow breath before shifting his knees under him, sitting upright. 

"Bond, here boy." The words were spoken softly, though he knew it should be more than loud enough for the dog to hear him, and he rubbed his arm as a chill went through him before frowning at the absence of Bond. "Bond?" Moving to get up, he looked around almost frantically for the dog. "Bond. Where are you?" He couldn't have been asleep long; it was still quite bright out, and though the living room seemed devoid of anyone else, he could hear noises throughout the penthouse that lead him to believe there was at least one other person still there. "Bond!" He called louder, padding his way into the hallway to start towards the voice he could hear, wringing his hands as he walked. The tail end of the dream that had awoken him was still pushing at the back of his mind, and he hesitated as he came to the closed door of the conference room. He knew, logically, that he was in the penthouse and that he was safe, relatively speaking. He knew that he shouldn't feel as though opening the door would lead to something terrible, that if there was anyone behind it, it would be a member of the crew and not an MI5 agent. Logically, he knew that. 

Logic rarely dictated through anxiety, though, and Gavin couldn't bring himself to lift his hand to turn the door handle and open the door. He stood in the hall, staring at the door as he clenched his fists, his mind rolling back to his dream. 

There had been a door in it, too. 

A large door, steel and reinforced; he and Dan hadn't been able to break through it once they had woken up in the cell they'd been tossed in. The MI5 had a sturdy prison- perhaps not the newest technology, but the walls of the prison had been thick enough to withstand a bomb and the two young men hadn't stood a chance in their attempts to break the door down to escape. There had been voices on the other side of that door as well, low voices talking at all hours that Gavin had spent hours trying to get information from. He hadn't been able to, and when the door had finally opened the bear of a man who entered had knocked out Dan and slung Gavin over his shoulder as though he was nothing more than a sack of potatoes. His struggling had done nothing, and the man had grabbed Dan by the back of his shirt and dragged him along as he took the two of them down several different halls. 

"Gavin?" Gavin jumped as Ryan's voice pulled him out of his daze, looking up at the older man as he tried to comprehend how he had gotten in front of Gavin. The door behind Ryan was opened now; Gavin realized that Ryan must have come through it to find the Brit standing stock still in the hallway. 

"Bond?" Ryan's brows furrowed a moment before he glanced towards the living room, moving to brush past Gavin to peer down the hall. 

“Ray and Jeremy took him for a walk. Are they not back yet?” Gavin turned on his heel, eyes wide at Ryan’s words. Ray and Jeremy had Bond. They had taken Bond, without asking. Ryan turned back to Gavin, taking in the Brit’s pale face a moment before moving to grasp his shoulders. 

“Hey assholes, I have donuts!” Both men turned towards the living room, Gavin jumping slightly as the door to the penthouse slammed shut, the sounds of someone dropping items on the table echoing some. Gavin made a soft noise of distress, and the ‘thump thump thump’ of Bond’s paws on the carpeted floor sounded before the dog appeared in the hallway, approaching Gavin and nuzzling his hip carefully. Gavin dropped to his knees, overwhelmingly relieved to see the dog before him as he wrapped his arms around Bond’s neck, burying his face in the animal’s fur. Ryan looked up as Ray appeared in the hallway, a questioning look on the sniper’s face as he glanced from Ryan to Gavin. 

“I, uh, I’m sorry I took him out, dude. I didn’t realize he was a service dog and shit, and he needed to go to the washroom bad.” Ray’s words were spoken carefully, concern bleeding through as Gavin remained where he was, speaking muffled words against the dog’s body. “Sorry I don’t...Gav, I can’t make out what you’re saying.” Gavin turned his face some, eyes tightly closed as he held onto Bond. 

“Don’t ever take my dog again.” His voice was cold, and Ray gave Ryan a startled look as he took a step closer to Gavin. 

“I’m seriously sorry, Vav. I won’t take him out again, I promise.” Ryan watched Gavin a moment before placing a hand on Ray’s shoulder, turning the younger man to give him a gentle push towards the living room. 

“Ray, why don’t you go to the security room and see if Geoff’s gotten any further in his trip through the LSPD traffic footage? We’ll come join you in a few minutes.” Ray glanced at Gavin before nodding, disappearing down the hall as Ryan turned back to Gavin. Kneeling beside the younger man, Ryan reached out carefully to touch his shoulder, causing Gavin to start slightly. “Gavin? Bond’s back and you’re okay...do you want to come sit in the conference room for a minute?” Gavin looked up at Ryan, eyes darting to where Ray had disappeared before giving a small nod. Ryan offered him a hand up, and Gavin took it to help pull himself up from where he was kneeling. Ryan lead both Gavin and Bond into the conference room, closing the door behind them and leading Gavin to one of the chairs.

“I never told him that Bond was a service dog. I didn’t tell any of you that, so it’s not fair if I get mad at Ray. I just…” Ryan reached out to pat Gavin’s arm, giving him a soft smile.

“You don’t have to explain, Gavin. Though it might be a good idea to fill us all in a bit better about all...well, this? Bond, the MI5, what’s got you having nightmares...you can trust us. I thought you knew that.” Gavin’s gaze fell on the hand on his arm, staring at it a long moment before turning his gaze to Ryan’s face.

“I know I should, Ryan. But sometimes it’s not that easy to just tell people things, alright?” Gavin snapped at him and Ryan frowned, moving to pull a chair in front of Gavin, settling into the seat.

“Gavin...have you told anyone about all this? Does anyone at all know about whatever it is that has to do with the MI5? Because, seriously....we all know something’s up, and it’s only a matter of time before Michael and Jeremy catch on and realize that you know a lot more about the MI5 than you’re letting on.” Gavin’s gaze shifted away from Ryan, and the older man gave a sigh. “Alright. You clearly don’t want to talk about this right now, but this conversation isn’t over. We’re going to talk about it eventually. If you’re having nightmares about it, it’s clearly something that’s upsetting you.” 

“It’s just not something I’m ready to talk about, Ryan. Can we please just drop it?” Ryan’s brow raised as Gavin snapped at him, and the Brit sank back in his seat a bit sheepish. “Sorry. I just...I can’t do that, Ryan. Not yet.” Ryan frowned, but gave a nod.

“Alright...Everyone has their secrets. But think about it, okay? Do you want to tell me why you have a service dog?” Gavin glanced at Bond, watching as the dog sat watching him at full attention.

“How did you know he was a service dog, Ryan?” A small part of him hoped the question would distract Ryan from his own question, and he shifted forward some on his chair as he waited for the older man’s response.

“Growing up I had a friend who was blind. He had a service dog.” Gavin nodded, and Ryan settled back in his seat, watching Gavin carefully for a moment. “Did you have a good nap?” Gavin shrugged some, rubbing his fingers together to gain Bond’s attention. 

“It was fine.” His answer was short, but not unkind, and Ryan nodded. 

“Are you ready to go back out there? Calmed down some?” Gavin rolled his eyes but nodded, moving to stand up. 

“Yeah, I’m good now/” He moved to go to the door, pausing before he could open it. “Ryan...thank you.” Ryan hummed, and Gavin exited the room, leaving Ryan alone as the dog followed him out. Running his hand through his hair, Ryan stood up, staring out the door where Gavin had gone. He didn’t want to push Gavin into telling him whatever had been causing his nightmares, knowing that if he pried too much, the younger man would shut him out. 

They’d find out eventually.

\+ +

“Uh huh. Okay. Yeah, no, it’s alright, I just...yeah, yeah. No. Ye-jesus christ, alright already. Uh huh. Yes. Burnie. I’m not an idi-oh shut up. Just make sure you let me know if anything changes alright? Thanks...yeah, talk to you later.” Geoff hung up and placed his phone on the desk, letting out a huff of breath as he hunched over the keyboard in front of him. He had been watching the footage that Joel had sent over, looking for any signs of the MI5 having caught on to their location. The policeman had flagged a few time stamps for him, and from what Geoff had been able to see, the two agents seemed to frequent only a few places that meshed with people in the crew. The coffee shop that the Lads frequented, the library Gavin used as a remote proxy. The park that Michael, Ryan and Gavin used as a drop off point. The store that Jack went to for groceries and one of their safe houses were also on the list, and Geoff was beginning to go cross eyed from over examining.

“Hey old man, How’s your adventure in video land going?” Geoff glanced up as Ray pushed through the door to the security room, watching as the younger man threw himself into one of the rolling chairs to skid across the floor, rolling to a stop next to Geoff. 

“I hate everything and everyone. Especially Burnie. Where were you?” Ray shrugged, spinning his seat some before answering. 

“Took, uh. Took Bond for a walk and sort of upset Gavin. Did you know that the dog is a service dog? Because holy shit, dude. Gavin was not impressed that I took him walkies.” Geoff frowned, turning his seat slightly to look at Ray. 

“No, he never really mentioned it. I knew that he was a guard dog, but Gavin never said anything about needing a service dog. Is he okay?” Ray gave a shrug, reaching for the mouse to click on one of the video clips that Geoff had isolated from the file he’d been on. 

“Dunno, Rye’s with him though. So hopefully he’s alright. Any luck with the cams, jam?” Geoff turned his gaze back to the screen, letting out a groan. 

“So far, these dudes like coffee, the library, long walks in the park and shopping. Take a look for yourself. I can’t figure out who they’re trailing, if it’s any one person...maybe you’ll have better luck.” Ray hummed, shifting his chair closer to begun watching through the clips. Geoff sat in silence, scrolling through some emails on his phone as he waited for Ray to finish going through the videos. “I’ve got to get those rocket launchers for a lower price next time apparently...Jack’s on my case about budgeting again. He sent me six emails about it, fucking christ dude.” Ray gave a grunt,, and Geoff fell into silence. 

“They’re following Gavin.” Geoff’s attention shifted from his phone to the sniper, brow raised as he glanced at the screen where Ray had paused a few clips. 

“Are you sure?” Ray shrugged, pointing to where each screen was paused. 

“Well, look at the spots that they go to. Common factor on all of them is that Gavin goes to all of them pretty often. The coffee shop. The library, the park. He goes with Jack shopping all the time. He’s the only person who goes to each spot. Plus...Geoff. Seriously, are we going to pretend that it’s not completely obvious that the creepy British agency has nothing to do with Gavin? Seriously?” Geoff sighed, leaning back in his chair and running his hand over his face. 

“I had hoped we could, yeah. I just...something about this whole situation is freaking Gavin the fuck out. Ray. He’s obviously not telling us something, but I don’t want to pry into it. You know how he is.” Ray nodded, leaning back in his chair as he clicked through the videos. 

“I mean, so far it just looks like they’ve figured out where he goes. If we put him under house arrest it might keep him off their radars but we gotta tell him, Geoff.” Geoff nodded, rubbing at his eyes as he let out a sigh.

“Alright. I’ll call a meeting. If everyone’s on the same page it’ll be easier to keep these assholes from showing up uninvited.” Ray nodded, and Geoff moved to stand up, stretching some. “Did anyone pick up supper yet?” Ray shook his head, and Geoff snorted. “Alright. I’ll go order something, if you want to keep looking through that stuff.” Ray gave a salute, and Geoff shook his head before leaving the security room, heaving a sigh.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been a little AWOL, haven't I? Sorry guys! I spent the last two weeks in and out of the hospital, but I'm back! This chapter isn't great, and I apologize for that...but the next one will have more action! Or maybe more Freewood, I don't know. It'll have more though...I promise! Also I'm writing on an iPad and I find editing hard so forgive me misspellings and grammatical messes!

Michael Jones was smarter than most people gave him credit for. Years of working with volatile ingredients in high stress situations had taught the bomb expert how to be aware of his surroundings; and it didn’t take a genius to realize when one was being followed. Leaning against Jack, who was ahead of him in line, he cleared his throat to catch the older man’s attention.

“Hey, I think we’re being followed. Two suits, seated in the corner. I saw them at the ammo shop too.” Jack glanced towards the corner Michael had nodded to, taking in the sight of the two men seated at the table there. They were certainly suspicious looking, and Jack gave a hum as the line moved forward. 

 

“I noticed them earlier, yeah. Do you think they’re the agent’s Geoff was talking about earlier?” Michael made a noise in the back of his throat, and Jack reached to pat the top of the shorter man’s head as they reached the front of the line. Placing their order, Jack lead Michael to the side to wait, leaning against the wall next to the counter. “I’ll send Geoff a message, let him know we’re being tailed.” Michael nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. 

 

“Do you think we did a hit on something that the MI5’s connected to accidently or something? We haven’t even done any big heists lately, it’s weird.” Jack frowned, and Michael let his gaze move around the shop. “Oh, hey, Ray texted me earlier. Did you know that Bond’s a service dog? Like...whaaaaat?” Jack snorted, stepping to the counter to get their order as his name was called out.

 

“I sort of figured it out, yeah. Question is...why does Gavin need a service dog? He’s never really been in the line of fire that much, and from what I know of his time before joining us he was just a hacker. Unless there’s something more than what he’s told us…” He frowned, taking the coffee before they turned to leave. Keeping track of the men following them, the two started down the road towards where they had parked. 

 

“Who knows man. Getting anything outta Gav about his past is like getting blood out of a stone. Oh, hey, we should get Chinese for supper, I’m totally craving some ginger beef.” Jack snorted, checking his phone as his text notification went off.

 

“Geoff’s calling a meeting about these guys. He’s also ordered pizza so sorry man, no chinese tonight. Ẃe’d better get back.” Michael nodded, sliding into the passenger side seat and closing the door. 

 

“We never get chinese when I want it, damnit. Alright, lets get back to the penthouse.” Jack steered the car out from it’s parking spot, turning onto the main road with one eye on their friends in the suits.

 

“Man, they’re following us. This is bullshit.” Jack hummed, weaving between traffic skillfully in an attempt to lose their tail. Michael peered over his shoulder, frowning as the car that had been tailing them got stuck behind a bus. 

 

“Let’s just make it back to the penthouse...we’ll sweep around through Fakehaus territory first to make sure we’ve lost them first.” Michael nodded at Jack’s words, turning back to the front of the car as they continued to weave through traffic. 

 

-+-+-+

 

“Gavin, can you and Ryan come in here please?” Gavin frowned at Geoff’s tone, peering across the table to where the older man had been preparing a sandwich. The two had migrated into the kitchen for Gavin to feed Bond, the dog now sprawled happily on the floor at Gavin’s feet as the Brit idly stirred the bowl of yogurt he’d gotten for himself before sitting down. 

 

“Sure, Geoff.” He tilted his head towards Ryan, who picked up his plate and started towards the living room where Geoff’s voice had come from, and Gavin slid from his seat to follow, Bond trailing behind him. Ray sat on the couch, snagging Gavin’s wrist as he stepped past him and pulling him to sit next beside him. Ryan squeezed beside Gavin at a look from the younger man, and Geoff sat in his armchair, Jeremy settled on the floor with a file in his lap.

 

“What’s this meeting about, Geoff?” Ryan asked, dropping his arm along the back of the couch with a curious look to their leader. Geoff glanced towards the door before looking back at the assassin, giving a small nod to him.

 

“Let's wait for Jack and Michael to get back. I don't want to have to have this conversation twice if I can help it.” Ryan frowned, and beside him Gavin cleared his threat, noting how both Geoff and Ray had been sneaking him glances.

 

“This has something to do with me, doesn't it?” The hacker asked, eyes darting from Ray to Geoff almost accusingly. Geoff frowned, leaning forward in his seat as behind them, the penthouse door opened as Jack and Michael entered.

 

“Guys, come sit down.” Geoff called, and the group watched as Michael dropped his bag on the floor before settling on the arm of the couch beside Ray.

 

“What's up boss?” Jack asked, settling in the arm chair beside Geoff’s as he glanced around the table. Geoff shifted, leaning forward to take the file folder from Jeremy to hold up for everyone to see.

 

“MI5. I’ve been looking over the tapes Joel gave us, and Ray’s actually figured out who they’ve been stalking.” Alll eyes turned to Ray, who gave a little shrug.

 

“It wasn't really that, uh, hard guys. They only show up in places that Gavin goes. And let's…” he glanced at Gavin, giving him an apologetic look, “...let's be real, here, did any of us suspect that they'd be after anyone but Gavin?” A round of murmured agreement rose from the group, and Gavin frowned, scratching his wrist nervously as all eyes turned to him.

 

“Do you want to tell us the truth, Gavin?” Geoff’s voice was gentle, trying to coax Gavin into feeling safe, and while the younger man was a little hurt that Geoff was pushing, he appreciated the gesture. He sat silently for a moment, and beside Ray Michael cleared his throat.

 

“They followed us half the day, Gavin.” Gavin’s gaze darted to Michael, instantly checking him over for any injuries, and Michael gave him a small smile. “They didn't do anything, but that's not saying they won't eventually, you know? So it's important that we know what's going on.” Gavin sighed, curling a bit tighter in his seat as he contemplated Michael’s words. He had a point, of course; the crews lack of knowledge on his previous involvement with the MI5 could prove dangerous if he didn't rectify the situation and tell them.

 

“Okay. I just, I need a moment.” Geoff nodded, and Gavin took a few calming breaths before balling his hands in his lap. “When I was in the U.K, my partner and I fell into a cover with the MI5. We were undercover for...almost six months before they caught us? Stole a lot of information, made a lot of money...made a mistake.” It had been a big mistake; forever capitalized in his head as The Mistake. “I tried to hack the wrong files, and we got caught. We were caught and they locked us up for what felt like forever.” It had been three months, three months of torture and fear and not knowing if he’d ever see sunlight again. Three months of white washed cement walls and a cold, barren room had sapped the hope from him, and by the end he’d been a shadow of the vibrant young man that he had been. “They killed my partner and released me into America. I haven't touched anything related to them since, so I don't know why they're looking for me.” The group was quiet for a moment before Geoff cleared his throat, shifting in his seat.

 

“I appreciate you sharing that info with us, buddy. I can imagine it's not something easy to have to think about. We’re going to find out why they're here, but in he mean time I wNt you, specifically, to stay in the penthouse. I want everyone to stay low but Gavin...if you want anything, you need to pick something up, you ask one of us.you are not to leave this building, do you understand?” Gavin gave a nod, sinking back in his seat as he realized that arguing would be futile. “Michael, Ray, I’m lending you out to Joel today for some research work. Jack, you and I are going to try to get owner of these agents alone. Jeremy, Ryan, you're staying here with Gavin to go over the Museum heist plans. Gav, I want a clear layout and escape route by the time I get back tonight. Okay?” Everyone gave a nod, and Geoff gave Gavin a look for a moment before clapping his hands. “Alright! I ordered pizza, what do we say to a games night?” Michael and Ray gave a cheer, and Ryan grunted as Gavin shifts to sprawl out, laying across the two men seated beside him on the couch.

 

“ Can we play monopoly?” Gavin asked hopefully, and Ray gave a groan as Jack beamed at the hacker.

 

“Sure Gavin.” No one felt like denying the man a simple pleasure at the haunted underplaying look on his face.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aha! Now we get to the action! And what did Gavin think he saw? :D I'm actually pretty excited for the next few chapters, I hope people are still interested in this with my taking so long to post lately ^^;

“That's cheating, oh my god why are you all letting him cheat?! Geoff stop him! You're the fucking banker!” Gavin beamed giddily as he slipped another pile of money into his tidy stack of monopoly cash, causing Jeremy to let out a disgruntled noise as he threw his hands up in the air. They'd been playing the board game a little over two hours, Ryan having taken over half the board as Gavin continued to steal from the bank, Ray slowly building a hotel empire on the shittiest of properties. 

“There's no point in stopping him when Ryan's pretty much won, alright. We should wrap up this game before one of you flips the board anyways.” Geoff’s tone was teasing, and Michael made a face as beside Gavin, Bond’s head lifted from where it was on the floor. The dogs actions drew no more attention than a side glance from Jeremy as it got up, and none of the men took much notice as the dog left the living room to pad its way towards the penthouse’s main door.

“Well I’m pretty sure he cheated too. God, never fucking play with criminals, they have no honour.” Jeremy stated, causing Jack to snort and Ray to give an affronted gasp.

“Wow okay, rude. I have plenty of honour. Just because some of us use to be straight edge doesn't make them honourable, Lil J.” The sniper stuck his tongue out, causing Jeremy to snort as he waved off the comment. Gavin moved to start helping Jack pack up the game, picking the pieces up off board to put back into the box as Jack started to collect the money. A sharp bark caused Gavin's head to shoot up, looking about the room before focusing his attention towards kitchen. Scrambling to his feet, he waved off Geoff’s curious look as he made his way to where the dog was standing in front of the patio door, stiff and alert as he growled lowly. Frowning, Gavin shifted to the side of the dog, just out of the way of the doors glass as he peeked out onto the patio. It seemed empty, and he pulled back to look at Bond as Ryan moved to stand in the entry to the kitchen with a curious look towards the hacker. Gavin gave a shrug, moving to step around the dog when Bond barked again, nudging at Gavin’s leg hard enough to send him sprawling as a sharp ‘ping’ sounded somewhere behind them in the kitchen. A quick side step and grab from Ryan kept Gavin from landing face first on the ground as he pulled the younger man flush to his chest, spinning them out of the room as another sharp ‘ping’ sounded, a glass on the counter exploding. Gavin let out a yelp as Ryan pressed them both to the wall, the group of men in the living room stilling as another shot sounded from the kitchen.

“What the fucking shit is this?” Geoff yelled as he jumped over the back of the couch, gun drawn as the others all scrambled to get out of potential range of fire. Ryan kept Gavin pressed to the wall, peering slowly around the corner of the wall as he tried to suss out where the shots had been fired from.

“Someone’s up on the roof of the building across from us.” Gavin shifted to attempt to look out the patio door, and Ryan tightened his arm around Gavin to keep him in place. “Gavin, stay still. There’s someone firing into our fucking kitchen, you’re going to get shot.” Gavin stilled, and Michael crept along the wall to stand beside them, gun drawn.

“Who the hell knows where our base is?” Behind the couch, Geoff was texting the B Team, sending instructions to scout out the building for their intruders. 

“Who knows, anyone could have followed one of us home. Fuck, Gavin, can you get to the security room to check the hall cams all the way down to the parking garage, see if there’s anyone there?” Jack’s voice was steady, taking control of the situation as he moved to the wall on the opposite side of the kitchens entry, Jeremy and Geoff following suit. Ray had shifted to pull his spare rifle from under the couch, using the scope to try and pin the sniper’s location on the opposite roof from his spot crouched behind the couch.

“Yeah, yeah I can do that Jack. Cover me?” Ryan snorted as Gavin slipped out of his arm, shifting to follow him. 

“I’ll go with you. Geoff, you should try to get Linds on the phone, let her know whats happening. Ray, try to take out the sniper if you can.” Ray nodded, shifting some on the couch. 

“Be careful and let us know if it’s clear.” Both men nodded, and Bond followed them as they made their way down the hall to Gavin’s security setup. Closing the door firmly behind them, Ryan leaned against the wall as Gavin sat down in his chair, flicking his monitors on. The screens lit up, casting the Brit’s face in a blueish light as he logged into the system.

“Do you think it’s them?” Gavin asked, fingers flying over the keyboard as Ryan tilted his body to half face Gavin’s back, half face the door. 

“Might be. It’s hard to say if this has to do with the MI5 or if it’s something unrelated until we see if there’s anyone skulking around in our hallways.” Gavin’s fingers paused as he glanced back at   
Ryan, giving a small snort. 

“Skulking? Really?” Ryan gave a small shrug, and Gavin returned to his work. “It looks like the main hallway outside of the penthouse is clear, and besides the people who live here and the staff, there doesn’t seem to be anyone in the building itself. They probably didn’t want to accidently alert us to their presence. I’m going to access the camera feed from across the street, see if I can see our little friends.” Ryan gave a hum as he cracked open the door, peering down the hall before calling out to the others. 

“Gavin’s given our building the all clear, Geoff. Any luck with the sniper out there?” There was a noise of furniture being moved, and he knew the answer before Geoff spoke.

“Ray can’t get a good shot, the asshole’s hiding in a corner just outside his range.” Ryan glanced at Gavin’s monitors, watching as the Brit pulled up multiple security camera feeds. The two looked over the screens, Gavin reaching to point out the image in the far right feeds box of an older gentleman in a suit crouched on the rooftop of the building. Ryan watched as Gavin enhanced the image, frowning as he glanced at the hacker and noted the colour draining from his face at the sight of the man. 

“Gavin? Do you recognize that man?’ Gavin nodded, and Ryan placed a hand on his shoulder. “Can Ray shoot him from down here? He looks like he’s wedged in behind that ac vent pretty good…” Gavin hummed, switching to a camera that was pointed towards their patio. 

“If he can get to this out ledge here, or even the window in the kitchen, he’ll be able to get a shot in. But he’ll need some cover fire, or a distraction.” Beneath the desk, Bond whined from where he had wedged himself under Gavin’s legs, and Gavin unconsciously reached down to pet the dogs head as he clicked to another camera. “He was probably shooting at me. So let me be the distraction.” Ryan frowned; Gavin had a point, but he didn’t like the idea of sticking Gavin in front of someone who was shooting at them.

“You’ll get shot, Gavin. Don’t be an idiot. I’ll provide some cover fire for him. Alright? You go into the living room with Geoff and Jack and you stay with them, alright?” Gavin hesitated, then nodded, shifting in his seat some. 

“Maybe I should stay in here. Keep an eye on the rest of the building?” Ryan paused, then nodded, pointing at him. 

“That’s a good idea. Stay in here with Bond, keep the door locked. Okay?” Gavin nodded, and Ryan moved to go out into the living room once more. Ducking behind the couch with Ray, he tapped the younger man on the shoulder to draw his attention away from the scope he had his eye pressed against. “Gavin says that if you can get to the kitchen window you can have a clear shot. Shooters situated behind the largest AC vent. I’ll provide cover fire for you, and Gavin’s going to keep an eye on the rest of our building to make sure no one else tries to come in.” Ray nodded, and behind them Geoff cleared his throat.

“If you can, shoot to injure but not to kill. I have some questions for our friend that I’d like answered.” Ray snorted and gave a salute as he pushed Ryan in front of him towards the kitchen. 

“Don’t worry about it boss. We got this.” Ray called over his shoulder, creeping his way into the kitchen as Ryan kept his gun trained on the patio window. The shooter had fired bullets in a familiar pattern on the window, and Ryan snorted as the two men moved carefully along the wall to just beside the patio door. “Alright, cover me while I set up this shot.” Ryan nodded, watching out the window as Ray aligned his sight. A bullet shot through the window close to them, and Ryan chuckled as he gestured for Ray to shift slightly to his right.

“He shot a union jack in our window. That is the most British fucking thing I’ve ever seen. Can you see him?” Ray hummed at Ryan’s question, focus steeled as he lined up the shot.

“He’s gotta come out of cover to pop off a shot, I’ll get him then. Now we wait for him to pop out annnnnnd-” he paused a moment, his finger squeezing the trigger, and Ryan glanced out the patio window before turning back to Ray.

“Get him?” Ray lowered his gun, giving Ryan a look as he tucked the gun under his arm and moved to stand. 

“Ryan please. Did I make the shot, who do you think I am?” Ryan snorted, reaching to ruffle Ray’s hair as they turned to head back towards the living room. 

“Right, what was I thinki-” Ryan’s eyes widened as he heard a cry from Gavin’s room and the sharp sound of glass breaking behind him, a pain shooting through his shoulder as the force of whatever had hit him sent him spinning on his heel. He dropped to the ground and ducked into the living room, grasping his shoulder as behind him Ray fired off two quick shots. 

“You okay Ryan?” Jeremy called from his place behind the couch, peeking over curiously. Ryan brought his hand away from his shoulder, noting the lack of blood as he rolled up his sleeve. No penetrative wound; but a large bruise was already spreading from the center of the pain. 

“Yeah. no actual entry wound. What the hell did they hit me with?” Ray sauntered into the living room, tossing a decently sized rubber pellet at Ryan, the older man catching it with a curious look at the sniper.

“They’re firing non-lethals. Whoever they are, I think they want us alive.” Ryan frowned, holding up the bullet as he moved down the small hall to the security room. Knocking on the door, he pressed his code into the keypad next to the door and opened it, brow raised as he spotted Gavin furiously searching through the security footage from the building across the way. 

“Ray says they’re firing non-lethals. What are you looking for?” Gavin clicked through two different video windows before pulling up a third, pausing the screen and reaching out to lightly touch the figure the video had stilled upon. Ryan leaned over Gavin’s shoulder, taking in the grainy feed image of a man with dark hair, half his face covered with what appeared to be some sort of mask. He wore dark cargos and a dark sweater, and Ryan watched the way he limped as Gavin clicked through a few frames of the footage.

“I just...thought I saw something. It’s nothing. You said they were firing lethals? They must be planning on capturing whoever the target is, maybe all of us.” Ryan fixed him with a look, and Gavin frowned. “They could be here for Geoff, he is a rather impressive crime lord Ryan. We don’t know for certain that they’re here for me.” Ryan snorted, and Gavin moved to stand up, beckoning Bond to follow him. “I assume we’re going to go capture whoever Ray left alive, then? Ask some questions?” Ryan held the door open for both Gavin and the dog, letting the hacker lead them into the living room after one last glance behind him at the computer screen. 

“Yeah, we’re going to capture them. Jeremy and Michael already headed over, and Linds is sending over a few people for clean up. Gavin, I want you and Jack to work over these two guys we caught, provided Ray didn’t kill either of them.” Ray made a sound at Geoff’s words, raising his rifle in the air as he moved to lay on the couch. 

“I only kill when I mean to, excuse you. I left them both alive. I didn’t even shoot the second one, just took out the rail above him and knocked him out. I am a professional, damnit.” Geoff snorted, moving to ruffle Ray’s hair before moving to peer into the kitchen.

“Of course, buddy. Jesus christ, look at my window. What sort of British asshole did this?” Ryan cleared his throat, and when Geoff glanced his way he tossed a look at Gavin as the younger man shifted from foot to foot. Geoff groaned, running a hand through his hair as he leant against the wall.

“MI5, huh?” He asked, and Gavin gave a small shrug as he wrapped his arms loosely around his waist as he swayed back and forth in his spot, clearly growing impatient.

“Yeah, so let’s go get them and see what the bloody hell they want, yeah?” Geoff nodded, waving Gavin towards the stairs to the lower section of the penthouse as the door opened, Jeremy entering with a body slung over his shoulder. Michael followed with the second body, and Gavin gestured for them to follow him down to their little interrogation room as Jack moved to follow. Geoff and Ryan watched them disappear as Ray skillfully took apart his gun to clean, the sniper at ease now that the threat had been eliminated for the time being. Geoff glanced from Ray to Ryan and then to the window before letting out a groan, gesturing to the two men. 

“Well? Which one of you assholes is going to deal with the hole in my goddamn kitchen window?” Ray and Ryan shared a look, and Ray held up his hands, one open palmed and the other fisted on top of it.

“Rock paper scissors, loser tapes that shit up?” Ryan groaned, but raised his hands, causing Ray to grin.

“Best two out of three.” Ray laughed, and Geoff shook his head, muttering something about kids before turning to disappear down the hall. Ray grinned, shifting to sit up slightly.

“Rock...paper...scissors...go!”


	8. Chapter 8

Ryan had been Geoff’s first choice of interrogator since he had joined the Fakes. His reputation was often more or less enough to make even the most hardened criminal spill, and his creepy way of alluding to his torture techniques was creative to say the least. Jack had been the one in charge of obtaining information from hostages before Ryan had joined, the often soft spoken man almost a completely different person when the need arose in a polite-but-willing-to-use-violence sort of way. Michael was too quick to violence when his temper ran hot, and while Ray had infinite patience when it came to lining up the perfect shot, he had little to none when it came to prying information out of someone. Geoff had been pleasantly surprised to find that Jeremy had at least a basic understanding of how not to kill someone you wanted information from, and while he himself was more than capable of pulling what he needed from people, he preferred to let other people get their hands dirty on the task instead.

It had been less than three weeks after joining the Fakes when Gavin had surprised Geoff by asking him if he could interrogate a traitor to the group. Geoff had been hesitant; Gavin was often grossed out by things like wet bread and Michael sticking his tongue up his own nose, and he hadn’t been certain that Gavin would be able to handle the situation accordingly. But Jack had convinced him to give the Brit a chance, and with Ryan presiding over the interrogation, Geoff had settled back behind the two way glass to watch as Gavin proceeded to blow away all preconceptions of the young man’s skills the crime lord had. Where Michael and Jeremy favoured violence as a scare tactic, and Ryan and Jack leant towards a mix of violence and logical reasoning, Gavin had seemingly pulled the information from the man tied to the chair before him by simply talking at him. Or, at least that had been how it had looked to Geoff from where he’d stood- the glass was fairly thick, and Gavin had spoken soft enough to the man in the seat that he hadn’t been able to hear most of what the Brit had said. Gavin hadn’t told him when he’d asked, either; stating that a man needed his secrets before darting away to find Jack to deliver the information.

It wasn’t really a secret, though, how Gavin got people to open up as easily as he did. The thing with being a hacker, with being a grifter, was that he was an incredible read when it came to other people. He knew what made them tick by the way they talked, knew how to startle or surprise them by the way they moved. He could figure out someone’s deepest, darkest secret when given just a little time; could suss out their greatest fear within hours of meeting them. It was a skill he’d always had, but had spent years honing- and it had been why the MI5 had approached him to begin with. Golden Tongue, Dan had jokingly called him, able to figure you out in the blink of an eye. 

“Hello, McKay. Long time no see.” The man tied to the chair glanced at Gavin groggily, the gash over his eye from where the railing had hit him still bleeding sluggishly as Gavin leaned against the table next to the chair. Somewhere behind the two way glass, Gavin knew that Jack was watching, ready to step in if Gavin needed assistance. Michael and Jeremy had returned to the upper levels of the penthouse, leaving the two men alone with their hostages. 

“Gavin.” The man’s voice was gruff; although from emotion, or the thick swelling of his cheek from where he’d fallen Gavin wasn’t sure. Gavin shifted against the table, moving to lean over the man tied to the chair as he reached to tap him on the cheek lightly a few times. 

“Why are you in America, McKay?” McKay shifted in his seat, seemingly settling as he realized that he was unable to escape his bonds. Gavin moved to pull himself to sit on the table, legs swinging as he watched the man expectantly. McKay was silent a moment before sighing, tilting his head slightly to watch Gavin a moment before responding.

“Because you’re in America, Gavin. And Alistair wants us to retrieve you and bring you back to the agency. I hear you’ve expanded your little criminal escapades here in the good old US of A...Geoff Ramsey, Gavin? That’s who you fell in with when we dropped you here, really?” He scoffed in distaste, and Gavin’s’ carefully neutral expression dropped into something darker as he slid from his spot on the table, taking the two steps to the chair to backhand the man hard across his mouth.

“Geoff’s a lovely bloke, and I’ll not have you speaking of him in a manner of which I disapprove. Is that understood?” McKay gave a hum, wincing at the throb in his cheek as Gavin moved back a few steps to sit on the table again. “Why does it matter where I am? The lot of you sent me here so I wouldn’t be near you, and now you suddenly want to see me? I don’t want anything to do with anything related to the MI5.” McKay opened his mouth to speak, but Gavin cut him off before he could. “You lot killed Dan. I’m not doing anything for you, and you’ll have to take me dead if you think I’m coming back to the UK with you. Why does Alistair want me? He’s the one who banished me from the UK to begin with.” The older man chuckled, and Gavin frowned as he shifted on the table. 

“Ah, yes. Poor little Daniel, we shot him in the head, didn’t we? Black made you watch it on the CCTV I believe. We didn’t allow you to see the body and you didn’t take it well. How has the guilt been, Gavin? How have you been living with the fact that because of your stupidity, your best friend was killed?” Gavin frowned slightly, the only indication that the words had affected him in the slightest. 

“I’ve made my peace with the thought, McKay. I’ve learnt from my mistakes, and I will not repeat them. Now I’ll ask you again; what does Alistair want with me? And don’t give me the run around. I’m not above killing you when I have another hostage I can get information from.” McKay frowned at Gavin’s words, and Gavin stood to lean over the chair, a hand on either arm rest as he stared McKay down as he waited for a response.

“He needs your skills. An agent has gone AWOL and we need your help to bring him back in before things get.... Out of hand.” Gavin snorted, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest as he watched the older man for a long moment.

“And why should that concern me? And, also, were you the lot that burned down my flat? Because that’s not how you get me to want to be on your team, McKay. Not that I ever want to be on your team. I never wanted to see you again in my life.” McKay gave a little half shrug, and Gavin’s lips tilted into a deep frown.

“It should concern you because the missing agent is in America looking for you. Something about redemption, I think. And yes, we were the ones who burnt down your flat. Black thought that if you had no place to go home to you might be more inclined to join us. It would appear not.” Gavin’s brow furrowed at the agent’s words, and he cast a look towards the two way glass before turning his attention back to McKay.

“Why would the agent be looking for me?” He asked, and McKay shrugged as best he could tied to the seat. 

“I’m sure there’s a reason. Alistair is willing to offer you the lifting of your ban from the UK if you help us. A sort of you-scratch-my-back, I’ll-scratch-yours deal if you will. We could even strike up some sort of deal about your crew perhaps if you’re willing to cooperate...Keep them off the radar for a bit and the like. What do you say?” Gavin fell into silence for a moment, thinking on McKay’s words. His initial reaction was to deny the man a response at all and simply slit his throat for suggesting they work together, but the idea of keeping the crew out of MI5’s grasp was enough to give him pause, if only for half a moment. 

“You couldn’t offer me a deal even if you meant to. And I have no intentions of working with the MI5, so Alistair will just have to find someone else to track this AWOL agent of his.” McKay chuckled, leaning back in his seat, and Gavin glared at him. “You’re not going to be leaving this room alive, McKay.” The man half shrugged, shifting slightly in his seat as he grinned at Gavin.

“You know we’re trained for this, Gavin. We’re expendable. Why do you think Alistair sent me along with Black? There’s no way he thought that the Golden Boy of Los Santos would let the man who killed his best friend leave the city alive. This was a suicide mission from the beginning, but Alistair had hoped that perhaps you’d see the light and come back. You’re life is in danger, little bird, but if you come back to the coop Alistair can protect you. Think about it.” Gavin stared at the man for a long minute before sliding down from the table again, circling the chair slowly to stand behind it and leaning down to hover over McKay’s shoulder as he drew his gold plated pistol from where he’d had it tucked at the base of his back, pressing the barrel to the man’s temple. 

“Coop is just another name for a cage, McKay. And I already spent enough time in the MI5’s. Do me a favour, yeah? Say hello to Dresden and Mickles when you get to hell.” McKay let out a burst of laughter that was cut off as Gavin pulled the trigger, the sound of the shot echoing in the room as blood sprayed across the hackers face as he pulled back. He stared at the body a moment before clicking the safety back on his gun, tucking it back in the band of his jeans as he turned towards the door.

“Jesus, Gavin. If your face had been two inches forward there you’d have lost the tip of your nose.” Jack’s voice was full of concern as he pushed the door open and entered the room, his eyes moving from the body slumped in the chair to Gavin. “I assume you got all the information we needed out of him, then?” Gavin shrugged slightly, walking past Jack and into the hallway, and the larger man shook his head and turned to follow, remaining silent as he waited for Gavin to speak. 

“They want me to come back to the UK to help them find an AWOL agent whose apparently looking for me. I wasn’t interested in McKay’s offer. Which room is the other one in?” Jack nodded towards the door to Gavin’s right, and Gavin gave a little nod before moving to open the door. Jack reached out to grasp his shoulder, stilling him before he could enter the room. 

“You’re just going to kill this one, aren’t you.” It wasn’t a question; Jack knew the look on Gavin’s face well enough to know that even if he disapproved of Gavin’s actions, the younger man would do as he pleased. Gavin shrugged off the hand on his shoulder, turning slightly to look at Jack with an almost expressionless look.

“You don’t understand, Jack. He killed Dan. He doesn’t get to live.” Jack frowned, but let Gavin enter the room, following behind him and closing the door as Gavin moved to stand in front of the blonde haired man strapped to the chair. Bending slightly, he drew his gun and used the barrel of it to tilt the man’s face up. Waiting for him to open his eyes, Gavin’s lips curled into a snarl as he leaned in close. “Hello, Black. I’d say it’s lovely seeing you again, but it really isn’t.” The man blinked a few times before smirking, leaning back some to take in Gavin’s face.

“Well hello there, Gavin. I suppose you’re going to torture me for information and kill me now?” The man’s voice made Jack’s skin crawl- posh and sleazy, it settled over Jack like and oil and caused him to curl his lip at the sound. Gavin scoffed, pressing the barrel of the gun hard into the soft tissue under the man’s jaw as he reached with his free hand to fist the man’s hair.

“I don’t have to torture you for information, Black. McKay already told me all about the AWOL agent and Alistair. And I have no interest in helping the MI5 with anything. So I killed McKay, and now I’m going to kill you, and I’m going to get the Vagabond to chop up your bodies so I can send the two of you back to Alistair in the same bloody duffel bag.” Black’s smirk widened, and Gavin gave a growl. “If it weren’t for the fact that Dan wouldn’t approve, I’d skin you, you heartless bastard. Dan didn’t deserve that, he was the good one, you fucking...you could have had me, you could have killed me instead. Dan was just the muscle. I was the brains.” His words were hissed, and Black tilted his head some against the gun.

“He was a pretty convincing little actor, too. I mean you both were, played the part of agents spectacularly...but Dan had a certain flare for death scenes, hmm? Made them almost believable.” Gavin hesitated slightly at the words, frowning as he tried to pull the meaning behind them.

“He was. But I saw you shoot him point blank. So don’t think you can play your bloody mind games with me. All I want to do is see your brains, splattered on my wall.” His finger twitched on the trigger, and Black grunted as the barrel was pressed harder against his skin. 

“You kill me, you don’t get to know where he is, Free.” Gavin snorted, flicking off the safety as he leaned closer. “Don’t you want to know?” Behind him, Jack cleared his throat, moving to stand where Black could see him. 

“Where who is?” Gavin asked, glancing at Jack as the older man settled beside him. Black chuckled, shifting to drive his chin into the barrel of the gun as he stared up at Gavin. 

“Where Dan is, of course.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Holidays! This chapter mentions some past Geoff/Gavin. It also starts the major plot of the story! Yay!

The sound of a shot being fired echoed loudly in the room, the silence that followed almost deafening as Gavin stared in shock at the man in front of him. Beside him, Jack stood with wide eyes, a hand moving to take the gun from Gavin. 

“Fuck.” The word was almost a whisper, and Jack slid the gun from Gavin’s slack hand before reaching to curl his fingers around Gavin’s shaking own. “Why did I do that? FUCK!” 

“Take a deep breath, Gavin. Jesus, that’s a mess.” Gavin pulled his hand away from Jack, turning to kick the chair the now bloodied corpse of Dustin Black was still tied to. 

“He had to have been lying. There’s no way Dan’s still alive, I saw him get shot point blank in the head. There’s no surviving that. Right? Ugh, I don’t even...I can’t just...argh! ” He kicked the chair again for good measure, distressed at how easily Black had been able to shake him, just by mentioning Dan. Jack’s hand dropped to Gavin’s shoulder, turning him to steer him towards the door.

“You’re off kilter from this. It’s understandable. He didn’t have any information for us, he was just trying to throw you off and mess with you. You know that, right?” Steering the younger man out of the room, Jack closed the door behind them before turning back to watch Gavin as the Brit twitched under his gaze.

“I thought I saw him, though, Jack. On the security feed earlier today...I thought I saw him and then decided that I was just seeing things. But what if I’m not? What if he did somehow survive and Black was telling the truth?” Jack frowned, and Gavin spun on his heel to head back to the living area of the penthouse. Jack followed, frowning as he took in the slight shaking of Gavin’s hands and shoulders as he stormed his way into the upper levels of the penthouse, hands clenched in tight fists as he passed by Ray, Jeremy and Geoff to enter his surveillance room. Jack gave the men a shrug at their curious looks, following Gavin to stand behind his computer chair as Geoff came to stand beside him, interest peaked as Gavin pulled up several files; the video feed from earlier in the day, a few security footage clips from several years previous, and a photo of himself with a young dark haired man, young teenagers with carefree smiles in place. The man in the older security footage images certainly carried himself in the same way as the man Gavin had caught on the camera earlier in the day; Jack couldn’t deny that.

“Is that Dan?” The pilot asked, pointing to the dark haired teen in the photo as behind him Ryan entered the room, Bond at his heels as he stood silently in the doorway. Gavin gave a little nod, clicking on the photo of the two teenagers to enlarge the picture some. Photo Gavin was just as lithe and wiry as present Gavin, though his hair was longer and his face was free of the stubble the hacker often sported now. He was dressed much more casually in the photo, a simple pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and if Jack didn’t recognize Gavin’s very noticeable nose, he’d have almost believed that the teen in the picture was a different person. 

“Yeah. We were about fourteen here; summer camp. My mum and his grandda saved up most of the year to send us, we were pretty excited when they sent us.” He gave the photo a fond smile before clicking the footage from that day, enlarging it and zooming in on the man’s face in it. “It’s hard to tell with the mask, but...I mean, it looks like him, doesn’t it? He’s limping the way Dan does too; he got shot in the leg during a heist with a crew in the UK and has had that limp ever since.” Ryan moved to lean over the back of Gavin’s chair, nudging Jack out of the way some as he looked over the footage Gavin had playing. 

“Are these other clips old cam shots of him?” he asked, curious as he pointed out the video windows. Gavin nodded, letting one of the clips play for the other two men as he reached down to stroke a hand over the flat of Bond’s head. 

“Yeah. From about five years ago, I think. There’s Dan…” he waited a moment as the young man on the screen made his way across the hall past the camera, limping the same as the man in the other footage, before pointing to a younger, slightly pixilated version of himself creeping along behind Dan, “And that’s me, back when I use to go out in the field more.” Ryan nodded, watching the clip again before reaching over Gavin to play the clip from that day again. 

“It certainly looks like the same person...you said you watched them shoot him in the head?” Gavin hesitated slightly, and Ryan’s brow rose as he waited for the younger man to speak.

“On a CCTV feed. So I mean...it could have been staged. I could have seen wrong. I was under incredible duress, after all...and I just accepted it as truth.” Ryan nodded, and Gavin turned the chair to look at him properly. “If they didn’t kill him, I have a hard time believing that he wouldn’t come find me sooner. So it doesn’t make sense to me.” He trailed off, sitting in silence for a long moment before shaking his head, running his hands over his face with a sigh. “Well, at least we know why MI5 are here.” Ryan gave him a curious look, and he gave a small wave of his hand. “Alistair, he’s the bloke who ran the division of MI5 we’d, er... infiltrated, I suppose is the word. He sent them to look for me to help them track this Dan imposter. Possible Dan. Whoever they are. Apparently, they’re looking for me. And if MI5 found me here, then whoever this is-” He gestured to the man on his screen, “-has clearly found me as well.” Jack frowned, crossing his arms over his chest as he glanced from the images on Gavin’s monitors to the Brit and back. 

“If he’s found you, why hasn’t he come for you yet?” Gavin shook his head, turning back to the screen to rewind the footage from that day. 

“I don’t bloody well know, do I? The bloke came to the building, followed McKay and Black up, looked like he was going to take them out but booked it as soon as Ray fired at them. I’m just as confused about it as you are, believe me. And if Geoff will let me, i’m going to get to the bottom of this.” His tone was firm, and Ryan reached out to drop a hand on the younger man’s shoulder as he gave him a warm smile.

“I’m sure we’re going to be putting the heist on hold until we get this figured out, Gavin. But your safety comes first, understood? If this guys after you, Geoff’s not going to be happy about this. And he’s not going to just let you do what you want. That’s how you get shot.” Gavin frowned, and Ryan gave him a firm look. “You know I’m right.” Gavin groaned, and at his feet Bond made a sound in the back of his throat as his attention turned to his master. Gavin pet the dog to soothe him, turning his face up at Ryan with a pout. 

“I’m sure Geoffrey and I can work something out.” he stated, causing Ryan to roll his eyes and Jack to chuckle. “What? I don’t like that look. I’m sure it’ll be fine and Geoff will let me search for Dan and stop making that face, Ryan.” Ryan shook his head, and Jack cleared his throat and gestured towards the living room. 

“Well right now I think it’s best if we go relax for a bit after all that commotion earlier.” The red haired man’s tone implied that it was less of a request and more of a firm order, and Gavin sighed, switching off the monitor and moving to get up. 

“Alright. I could use a tea anyways.” Moving to get up from his seat, he kept a hand on the dog and let him guide him out of the room, Jack following behind him. Ryan remained where he was standing a moment, his eyes on the monitor in front of him. Taking in the image of the man in the clips, he frowned before turning to leave the room, closing the door behind him. 

Hopefully, this ‘Dan’ character would be less trouble than he seemed.

+++++

“Absolutely not.” Gavin frowned from his seat at the table, hands wrapped around his favourite mug (extra large, gold and with a massive Union Jack printed on one side, the infamous Fakes symbol on the other, a gift from Geoff) as he watched Geoff move about the kitchen. The older man was making nachos, a scowl on his face as he grated cheese. 

“I don’t understand why you’re so against this, Geoff. I’ll be perfectly safe I’m sure, you could send me out with someone even if you wanted.” Gavin kicked his feet under the table, watching as Geoff turned slightly to start slicing vegetables to put on the nachos. The rest of the crew were scattered about the living room, all waiting for the snacks to start the shitty B movie Michael had picked from their selection of dvd’s. 

“You seriously don’t see what’s wrong with the idea of letting you go out to find the person who is suppose to be hunting you down? Really, Gavin? You’re a fucking moron, you know that right?” Gavin made an offended noise, pouting as Geoff turned to look at him, a more serious look on his face as he stared the younger man down a long moment. “Gavin, do you remember what I told you when we hooked up in Alabama?” Gavin’s frown turned thoughtful as he moved his gaze to his mug, thinking back on Geoff’s words the night they had decided to head towards Los Santos, laying on a pile of blankets in the back of Geoff’s pick up truck in the hot summer night.

“You said that you were going to take care of me if I came to Los Santos with you. And something about protecting my cute twink arse, if I recall correctly.” They’d slept together for maybe a week before Geoff had declared that he liked Gavin too much as a friend to keep sleeping with him, and Gavin had been content to allow the older man to simply take him under his wing instead. 

“And this is me, doing that by making sure that cute little ass of yours remains in one piece. I’m putting my foot down, Gavin. You’re not to go looking into this asshole, do you hear me?” Gavin hesitated a moment, debating the idea of arguing with Geoff on the fact, but he had known the man long enough to know when it was useless to argue a point with him. 

“Well I can’t just stay here, can I? He already knows I’m staying here. What do you propose we do then?” Geoff frowned as he placed the nacho creation into the oven, moving to lean against the counter with his arms over his chest as he thought. 

“You could always come to my place. No one knows where it’s at, no one knows who I am outside of the crew...you’d be safe there.” Both men looked up at Ryan’s voice, the man himself standing in the entrance to the kitchen with his hands on his hips, watching the two men. Gavin tried to think of a reason not to; while usually he would have jumped at the opportunity to go to Ryan’s place, the other man having kept the apartment practically secret, he felt that with Ryan so closely guarding him, he’d never have a chance to go against Geoff’s orders to look into the A.W.O.L with him looking so carefully over Gavin’s shoulder.

“Wouldn’t that be an inconvenience for you?” he asked, tilting his head to the side to watch as Ryan entered the kitchen fully, stepping carefully over where Bond had sprawled out on the floor to approach the table. Pressing a hand to Gavin’s forehead gently, he frowned before turning to Geoff. 

“No. Geoff, he’s still a bit warm, it’d be easier to make sure he rests if someones with him and you wanted Ray and I to guard him anyways, didn’t you?” Geoff nodded, thinking on Ryan’s words as the man continued. “So it makes sense to have him hide out at my apartment. Like I said, no one knows about it in connection to the Vagabond. He should be more than safe there.” Gavin made a noise, slouching over on the table as Ryan spoke. 

“The two of you know that I’m sitting here right now, don’t you? I should think I’d get a decision in this.” Ryan snorted, shaking his head as Geoff chuckled.

“You want us to let you go chasing after someone who, for all we know, is trying to kill you. I think that veto’s your right to a say in the matter when it comes to your safety.” Geoff moved to settle into the seat next to Gavin, folding his hands on the table in front of him as he fixed the younger man with a look. “I’d feel a lot better about your safety if you went with Ryan, Gavin. This guy’s already found the penthouse, I don’t want to think about what might happen if he catches you alone. Please just do as I say for once in your life and don’t fight me on this.” Gavin’s gaze moved from his mug to Geoff, and he bit the corner of his lip at the look on his friends face. 

“Okay.” Geoff’s look morphed into one of surprise, and Gavin frowned as he placed his mug on the table.

“That’s it? No fight?” Gavin’s nose wrinkled as he leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Well you’ll not be likely to change your mind now, will you? And I know better than to try to fight you one something when you’re this serious about it.” He glanced at Ryan, taking in his quiet form. “If I’m coming, so is Bond.” Ryan stared at him a moment, then looked at the dog as Bond looked up at Gavin at his name. 

“My apartment’s pretty small, Gavin…” Gavin’s gaze steeled, leaning forward in his seat some. 

“Bond comes, or I don’t. That’s the deal. I think I’m being incredibly reasonable here, Ryan.” Ryan turned to look at Geoff for help, and the older man simply shrugged.

“Fine. But you’re cleaning up any mess he makes. Am I clear?” Gavin beamed, bouncing slightly in his seat as he flashed Ryan a thumbs up. “We’ll pack you up and head out in a few hours then, sound good to you Geoff?” Geoff nodded, moving to stand up after reaching to ruffle Gavin’s hair.

“Yeah, that’s fine. Stay and watch the movie with us, have some nachos and then head out.” Ryan nodded, turning to leave the room, and Gavin got up to follow him, watching him carefully as Ryan reached the couch, leaning to push Ray’s legs off the couch to settle next to him. 

The next few days could prove to be interesting.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <3! Let me know if you all enjoy this little chapter! The plots about to thicken

“You need to walk him, Ryan.” Ryan stared at Gavin, frowning as he crossed his arms over his chest. The smaller man stood in the middle of Ryan’s small kitchen, hands on his hips as he watched Ryan with a look of determination.

“I didn’t agree to that.” Gavin rolled his eyes, extending his hand towards Ryan with a huff. 

“Then give me the bloody leash and let me do it. He needs to go for his walk.” Ryan’s frown grew, and he held the leash tighter in his hand as Gavin took a step forward. 

“In case you’ve forgotten, there’s someone out there after you who may be trying to kill you. Geoff would massacre me if I let you wander around town on your own.” Gavin threw his hands up in frustration, spinning on his heel to stomp to the fridge and throw it open. 

“So then YOU DO IT.” the hacker stated angrily, taking a bottle of water and slamming the door closed. Ryan winced at the mistreatment of his appliance, watching Gavin pace the small area like a caged animal. The younger man had been more than irate the three days they had spent in the small bachelor apartment; three days of pacing the small living space, three days of angrily avoiding Ryan every time the assassin attempted to draw him out. Ryan didn’t understand it; Gavin had come with him willingly when they’d left the penthouse, joking about being roommates as they drove from the penthouse to Ryan’s. Over the next twenty four hours, Ryan had watched the hacker grow more and more irritated, and he had taken to lashing out at Ryan at random intervals. 

“You know I can’t just leave you here alone, Gavin. That’s not how this works.” Gavin let out a frustrated grunt, taking a forceful drink from his bottle before leaning against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest to stare at Ryan. Ryan caught the stare and raised a brow, tilting his head slightly to the side as he waited for Gavin to speak.

“He’ll piss on your bed if you don’t take him for a walk.” Ryan’s nose wrinkled, and he cast a look at the dog who was anxiously pacing by the door. “Ryan, imagine if you had to have permission to take a piss. And then the person who usually gives you that permission, he can’t because some big bloke is telling him no. Imagine you’re really fond of that person who gives you permission, and the big bloke stopping you from having a wee is making that person upset. Now imagine that you’re trained to not attack that person. You’re only weapon is a full bladder.” Ryan returned his gaze to Gavin for a moment before letting out a deep sigh, sweeping up his house keys and moving to kneel next to the dog, clipping Bond’s leash onto his collar. 

“You stay right here. Don’t leave this apartment, don’t go near the windows, don’t do anything. Do you understand?” Gavin fixed him with a blank look, and Ryan gave a low growl as he straightened up, pointing at the Brit. “I’m dead fucking serious, Gavin. I’ll know if you leave.” Gavin rolled his eyes, waving his hand dismissively.

“I’m not crazy about the idea of running about and getting shot, you know. But I’m also not overjoyed at being treated like a prisoner, either.” Ryan winced at his words, and beside him Bond whined. “Take him for a walk, let him do his business….you're the one who said I’d be safest here, right?” Ryan nodded, and Gavin moved to take his water bottle to sit on the couch. Turning to the door, he paused as he reached for the handle of the door, turning slightly to look at the hacker. 

“I’m not trying to make you a prisoner, Gavin...I’m just trying to keep you safe. You know that, right?” Gavin gave a sigh, turning some in his seat on the couch to watch Ryan a moment, his expression softening slightly.

“I know, Ryan. But I hate being told to stay put, you know that. I can take care of myself, you know.” Ryan nodded, and with a twist of his wrist he was out the door, Bond leading the way. Gavin settled against the cushion of the couch as the door closed behind Ryan, listening to his footsteps leading away from the apartment before sliding to the far side of the couch to grab his laptop. Opening it, he clicked through his emails before opening up a video file, settling back on the couch as he let it play. The video was older- Gavin’s face was younger as it popped onto the screen, Dan’s glowing smile causing the Brit to give a small one in return to the video as he turned up the volume some. 

“Hi everyone! This is Gav and Dan, and we’re about to blow something up!” Gavin on the screen gave a thumbs up, and the camera shook as someone picked it up, turning it around to look out over a brown grassed lawn the size of a small field. “Dan’s granda has this massive field behind his house, yeah, and we’ve been given permission to dispose of some old fireworks however we see fit. Well, B, how do we see fit to do it?” The camera spun from the field to Dan’s face, and Gavin’s breath caught as Dan’s bright voice filtered through the speakers of his laptop. 

“Well, B, we have all these cans of paint that were left over from repainting the shed. We might have to see what happens when you light a popper in one!” Gavin covered his mouth with his hand, watching as the two teens in the video proceeded to go about lighting the small fireworks and shoving them into the cans of paint. He could remember that day; Dan had been excited, and his grandmother had made them cucumber sandwiches and lemonade before they filmed. Reaching to pause the video, he rubbed at his face before closing out the video. Three days he’d searched every available camera he could hack into around the penthouse; three days of relentlessly scouring every single clip he could find to see where the mysterious stranger he’d caught on camera had gone after they had captured Black and McKay. He had lost the man halfway to the pier, the figure slipping into an alleyway with no camera available and never reappearing on the other side. 

“Dan, if it is you, you’ve gotten much better at stealth B.” he murmured as he clicked through the camera clips again idly, more for something to occupy his time than in any real interest to keep searching the videos for the man. Part of him wished that he’d gone out with Ryan and Bond regardless of the older man’s paranoia that whoever was stalking Gavin would notice him in the middle of the night. He felt cooped up, trapped and confused and he hated it more than anything. He didn’t know what frustrated him more; Ryan, the disappearing mystery man or Geoff’s constant checking in on them. Letting out a huff of breath, he closed his laptop again, setting it on the coffee table and reaching to pick up the t.v remote instead. Turning on the t.v, he put it on a random science channel and settled back, letting his mind wander as a show about deep ocean creatures played. Picking up his water bottle, he rolled it in his hands, thinking back to what Black had said.

He had implied that the image of Dan being shot point blank had been a false one. That Gavin had been fooled by the MI5 into believing that his best friend was dead, when he had watched with wide eyes and a breaking heart as the trigger was pulled. He didn’t want to believe that it had all been faked, but he wanted to believe Dan was still alive...a catch 22 if ever he’d had one. 

Curling up, he glanced around the single room that served as both Ryan’s bedroom and living room. It was a pretty sparse room- a t.v stand with the t.v and an Xbox on it, two small bookshelves loaded with books and plants, and a small coffee table that Ryan seemed to use as a dinner table as well.In the far corner, away from the door and closer to the bathroom, was Ryan’s bed- a queen sized mattress that was incredibly comfy. Gavin had discovered that when he had crawled into bed with Ryan the second night, unwilling to sleep on his lumpy couch for a second time. Ryan had taken it in stride, and Gavin had found that the Vagabond was particularly fond of snuggling in his sleep. 

Besides the sparseness of the apartment, Gavin had to admit that it had a simple charm to it- it reminded him a lot of the small flat he and Dan had shared in Oxfordshire, honestly. It was...comfortable, in a way that Gavin had forgotten homes could be. His gaze traveled around the room once more, stopping on the door that lead to the small balcony attached to Ryan’s apartment. Frowning, he shifted as something caught his eye; what looked like an arm, just inside his line of sight. Sliding off the couch, he shifted to slide along the floor towards the door. 

There was definitely someone out there. The arm moved, just the slightest bit, and Gavin noted that there seemed to be something dripping from the person’s tightly fisted hand. Ryan’s apartment had multiple hidden weapons scattered about, and Gavin slid his hand along the underside of the small china cabinet near the door to slip a pistol into his hand as he pressed his back to the wall. The person outside the window as standing with their back against the apartment wall, black jeans and an overly large black hooded sweater blocking Gavin’s view of the person’s face. He frowned, checking that the gun was loaded - it was - and that turned the safety off. Taking a steadying breath, he slid his back along the wall to stand, holding up the gun as he tried to gauge if the person was paying attention to the inside of the apartment. 

Ryan had been right, sort of. The first time the other man had left the apartment, left Gavin unattended, and a stranger had shown up on his balcony. There had to be some sort of poetic sign that Ryan had been right, that he shouldn’t have been left alone. Taking a deep breath, he pushed the door open and swung the gun out in one move, training it on the man (and it was a man, Gavin could tell by the way he held himself) as he stepped onto the balcony.

“Don’t move a muscle, or I’ll shoot. Who are you, and why are you on this balcony?” The man stiffened, and Gavin shifted slightly to ensure that he had no weapon. “You’re trespassing, and in Los Santos that’s a dangerous thing to do, so I suggest you tell me what you’re doing here before I fill you with holes.” The man shifted slightly, and Gavin moved to press the gun against the man’s chest. 

“Gavin, it’s me. Don’t shoot.” Gavin stilled, his grip on the gun loosening slightly as he gaped at the man. He recognized that voice, and he leant forward to snatch the hood down off of the man’s face with a curse as he took in the face that greeted him. Dark hair, a bloodied mouth, looking barely a day older than the last time he’d seen him, across the ocean all those years ago. He lowered the gun slightly, unsure as to if the man was trustworthy enough to let his guard down some, his brows furrowing in confusion and pain for a friend he’d thought he’d lost ages ago. Moving to lean heavily against the railing, he stared at the man for a long moment before taking a deep breath, running a slightly shaking hand through his hair.

“Ben?”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not saying I predicted MI6 Gav the Third on ELR BUT I TOTALLY PREDICTED IT

“I thought you were dead.” Gavin barely gave a nod at Ben’s words as he bustled about the small kitchen, placing the camping kettle Ryan owned onto the stove top and turning the burner on before moving to find two tea mugs to set out. 

“A lot of people thought I was dead, Ben. Did the proper cover up when they shipped me out, the MI5 did. Why are you here? I thought you were still working with the Brighton Boys?” Opening a cupboard door, he poked around until he found some tea, taking the small box out to set on the counter beside the mugs. Ben gave a soft sigh, leaning against the arm of Ryan’s reading chair to watch Gavin move about the kitchen as though he owned it. 

“I am. But there was a bounty put out on you, and I was really quite confused at first because...well, you’ve been dead for two years, haven’t you?” Gavin frowned as he plopped the tea bags into the mugs, turning to lean against the counter as he eyed the younger man carefully. 

“Who put the bounty out?” He had a suspicion; only one group knew he’d been alive, so it wasn’t too big a jump to assume they were the ones who had put out the hit. “And why aren’t there more people scrambling for my head?” That was the part that was more confusing; if the MI5 had placed a bounty out on him, then why hadn’t McKay and Black killed him when they’d had the chance?

“When I replied to the bounty, it was to a ghost email address. After a few conversations with the person, they agreed to a meet up. Flat out field way out in the middle of nowhere, cover of night sort of setup, you know? Bloke seemed to not want to be seen. But I recognized him as soon as he spoke, I mean how couldn't I…it was Dan, Gav. “ Gavin frowned, taking the kettle off the stove to pour into the cups, placing one in front of Ben as he joined him around the coffee table, settling onto the couch and pulling his legs under him.

“Except that doesn't make sense, Ben. I saw Dan die. He was shot point blank.” Ben frowned, picking up his mug and taking a careful drink before giving his head a shake. 

“No, Dan’s definitely alive, Gavin. I've seen him. Hell, I've touched him, we went for bevs right before I left the U.K. He's alive. Hell, he's here in Los Santos, even. Looking for you.” Gavin leaned back against the couch cushions, rolling Ben’s words over in his mind. That was the second person confirming that Dan was alive now- one who he generally trusted. 

“ I saw him get shot, Ben.” Ben frowned, shifting in the arm chair to lean towards Gavin. 

“Well he healed up quite well if that's the case. Trust me, Gav. He's alive.” The room fell to silence, both men drinking their tea quietly until the sound of someone placing a key in the door caused both to look up as the lock turned and the door was pushed open, Bond racing into the small apartment to barrel into Gavin on the couch, sniffing at his master to check him over as Ryan entered, pausing as he closed the door to stare at Ben.

“Gavin?” Gavin gave Bond a gentle push away from him, looking up at Ryan’s questioning tone.

“It's okay, Ryan. Ben’s a friend.” Ryan noticeably relaxed some, dropping the dogs leash onto the small table next to the door and toeing off his shoes.

“I wasn't aware that we were expecting company, Gavin.” Gavin gave a little shrug, watching as Ryan made his way to the couch, the older man not once taking his eyes off of Ben. 

“I wasn't expecting him, honestly Ryan. He's here because of Dan.” Ryan cast a look at Gavin, who shrugged lightly. “He says Dan’s alive. I'm still not sure I believe him.” Ben cleared his threat, putting down his mug and giving a little wave.

“Yeah, right here? Can bloody well hear you talking.” Gavin snorted, waving him off as Ryan shot the younger man a hard look at his interruption. “Dan put the bounty out for you to be brought to him alive and unharmed, you know? He just wants to know you're okay.” Gavin's hands gripped the mug in his hands, and Ryan reached to carefully remove it from his grasp to set it on the table top. 

“Well then why the bloody hell hasn't he just come to me then? I thought he was dead!” Ben gave Gavin a concerned look as the older man slapped his hands down on the table, clearly upset. “If he wants anything to do with me, he’ll come to me himself, Ben. And you can tell him that. It’s bad enough Geoff has me on lock down because of all this; I think he owes me that much, the right bastard.” Ben’s lips quirked into a half smile, and Ryan help up his hand to catch the two younger men's attention. 

“Alright, can I please be filled in a bit better here? Who exactly are you, Ben?” Ben shifted some, reaching across the small table to offer Ryan his hand. 

“Sorry about that, I’m Ben King. Gav and I use to work together for a crew back in the day. Ryan. Was it? How do you know Gavin exactly?” Ryan’s brow raised as he took the offered hand, using his grip to pull Ben across the table some towards him. 

“A friend. Do you know much about Gavin’s current crew?” Ben frowned, tugging his hand back and leaning back into the chair, watching Ryan a moment. 

“I know enough. Ramsey’s crew is pretty damn famous, even across the pond. Hey, Gav, is it really true that you work with the Vagabond?” Gavin cast a slightly amused glance to Ryan at the question, giving a little hum.

“Vagabond? Yeah, I work with him. He’s a big softy, actually, once you get to know him.” Ryan rolled his eyes, and Gavin grinned wider. “Secretly I think he just wants to be hugged. That’s what all the murder’s actually about. Wasn’t hugged enough as a child.” Ryan snorted, and Gavin shrugged as Bond shoved his head under the young man’s hand. 

“Alright, we don’t have to discuss this. What we should discuss is how Dan’s seemingly brought the MI5 down on Gavin’s head. I don’t particularly appreciate being shot at when we’re trying to enjoy a nice evening in.” Ben hesitated some, shifting nervously in his seat. 

“I don’t know the whole story. Can I just- I want to preface this all with that fact; I didn’t know Dan was alive any more than you did until the bounty came up. But from what Dan’s told me, MI5 wanted to separate the two of you but still be able to...I guess use you. Like I said, I don’t know much but what I do know is that they basically forced Dan to work for them because they told him that they were keeping you held hostage or something. And then he found out you weren't and basically went AWOL on them to go look for you. And that's where the bounty came in.” Gavin frowned, and Ben held up his hands. “Sorry mate, that’s all I really know. He was surprised when I showed up, and gave me the briefest run down in the existence of life on what happened, and now we’re in America. But MI5 isn’t too pleased; they think that if Dan gets to you then the two of you can cause shit again, sell secrets or something. Basically they don’t want you to know that Dan’s alive. They’d not only lose their hold over you for keeping you out of the U.K, but they’d completely lose any sway they have over Dan, who's made quite the name for himself as a legal assassin within their organization. He knows a lot now about their inner workings, so I can only imagine what someone with your abilities could do with that knowledge if he got to you. And I imagine MI5 can imagine it too.” Gavin fell silent, his hand stroking over the soft fur of Bond’s snout as he contemplated Ben’s words. Dan had been lied to just as he had, though Gavin didn’t feel an ounce of surprise there- the MI5 had spent most of their time there manipulating them, and frankly Gavin was embarrassed that he hadn’t even thought about Dan being alive. 

“Alright. So the end game here is for me to get to Dan and for us to fuck up MI5. Right?” Ben shrugged, and Gavin turned his gaze to Ryan to gauge his opinion on the situation. The older man seemed to have settled back against the couch cushions, one hand stroking along Bond’s back as he contemplated Ben’s words. 

:I think that, for right now, we should focus on getting you in touch with Dan and keeping you out of MI5’s reach. We can’t take on an entire government agency, Gavin. That’d be a death sentence. But maybe we can find a way to make the two of you...I don’t know disappear or something off their radar.” Gavin nodded, and Ryan turned his attention to Ben. “Are you meeting up with Dan? Can we figure out a meeting time or something?” Ben nodded, shifting to lean with his elbows on his knees.

“I can set it up, yeah. Just give me a few days, he’s hard to get a hold of sometimes...likes to stay hidden and what not.” Ryan nodded, and Gavin cleared his throat. 

“Let us know as soon as you know, yeah?” Ben nodded, moving to get up. 

“‘Course, Gav. You stay safe now, alright?” Ryan shifted some to bring an arm around Gavin’s shoulders, fixing Ben with a stoic stare. 

“He’ll be fine. I’m watching over him.” Gavin frowned slightly, tilting a look at Ryan before waving Ben off. 

“I’ll be alright, Ben. You stay safe too, yeah?” Ben chuckled, tossing a wave over his shoulder as he headed out the door, leaving the two men sitting in silence as they went over the information that the young man had provided them. It was nearly ten minutes later when Gavin started, turning to face Ryan with a hard look. 

“What do you mean, disappear?”


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An interlude of sorts

4 am was quiet, even in the heart of Los Santos. Ryan lay on his back, eyes watching the rays of light of each passing car that shone through his blinds. On the couch came the soft breathing of a slumbering dog, Gavin’s own breaths too quiet for Ryan to make out in the small room. Their discussion of what Ryan had thought of idea wise for Dan and Gavin had run then to nearly one am once Ben had left; the main idea being that once it was safe for Dan to join Gavin, they would go to Geoff and see if the older man could hide them somehow with the help of Burnie, Gus and Joel. Gavin had been adamant that no hiding would keep the MI5 from finding them, which had lead to the two men arguing until Gavin had declared it bedtime. 

Now, in the silence that fell in the bachelor apartment, Ryan couldn’t help but wonder if Gavin had a point. The MI5 had been able to find Gavin at the penthouse, where they had the top security and some of the best technology when it came to keeping them hidden from the world. Gavin himself had created most of their security system, and frankly Ryan had been surprised that the MI5 had been able to break through and find him. 

Not to mention, Dan. 

Ryan didn’t really know what to think of Dan; the man had apparently been a part of Gavin’s life for a very long time, and the hacker had never mentioned him before. Ryan could understand not wanting to mention someone who was dead, how bringing up the past could bring forth a solid ball of hurt that sat in your gut if you weren’t careful, but he had never expected Gavin, carefree and careless Gavin, to have that sort of hurt hidden deep down. Gavin had always felt...casually open, as it were. As though he hid nothing, and Ryan knew that it wasn’t true, but it had always felt that way. Like Gavin just wore everything on his sleeve.

His thoughts were interrupted as the soft plod of socked feet travelling over hardwood floors drifted to him from the couch, and he turned his head to watch the shadow of Gavin track it’s way through the living room area to stand next to his bed silently. Watching him a moment as the Brit swayed slightly, he shifted some to lift the corner of his blanket, allowing room for the smaller man to wiggle next to him before lowering the blanket once more. They lay in silence for several minutes, the only sound between them that of the dog snoring on the couch. 

“I was having a hard time sleeping.” Gavin whispered, pressing back against the warmth of Ryan’s chest as Ryan dropped his arm over Gavin’s hip. Ryan gave a small huff as he shifted slightly, trying to angle his hips slightly away from Gavin as the younger man tried to wiggle himself into a cocoon of blankets and Ryan’s arm. 

“I gathered that when you decided to crawl into my bed with me. Thinking too much?” Gavin shook his head, rolling to lay chest to chest with Ryan as he gave a little noise of thought. 

“Just...worried. I wasn’t anticipating all this to come down on me, and now you’re involved, and so’s everyone else...I just hoped that MI5 was done with me, I suppose. And now there’s Dan...I don’t know what to say to him, it feels like a lifetime since I saw him last and I thought he was bloody dead. I don’t like being this out of control of things, I don’t like that you’re stuck here with me in danger *because* of me. I don’t like it, Ryan.” The tone of his voice was solemn, and Ryan couldn’t help but to pull him a bit closer as he took a slow breath. 

“No matter what, we’re involved now, Gavin. I know it must be scary, finding out someone you thought was dead is still alive. And knowing that the MI5 was able to find you as easily as they did...we’re going to do our best to protect you.” Ryan fell silent a moment, watching Gavin as the younger man shifted his gaze from Ryan’s eyes to his lips and back, and he swallowed hard. “I promise I’m going to do everything in my power to protect you, okay?” Gavin gave a small nod, clearing his throat as he shifted a bit closer to the warmth of Ryan’s body. 

‘You know, I don’t really need protecting as much as you all seem to think I do. You do know that, don’t you?” Gavin’s voice was soft, as though unwilling to break the gentleness between them, and Ryan gave a small chuckle as he ran a hand down Gavin’s back slowly, fingers trailing down to dip under the hem of the t-shirt he wore. 

“You’re a very capable person, Gavin. More capable than you let on, which was surprising to find out. I’ve grown pretty fond of you, though, so I don’t plan on letting the MI5 do anything to you.” Even in the dark, Ryan could make out Gavin’s little smile, and he couldn’t help but pull the smaller man closer, soaking up his heat as he let his fingers walk along the knobs of Gavin’s spine. Gavin pressed into the touch, his hands moving to fist in Ryan’s sleep shirt as he shifted to press his forehead against Ryan’s. 

“I just don’t want you to forget that I’m a trained killer too, Ryan. It’s bloody insulting, the way that...well. The way Dan use to treat me sometimes, the way Michael does. I’m not dumb, I just play the part well. I have silly moments but I generally know what I’m doing.” Ryan dragged his thumbnail across the soft tissue of Gavin’s side, smiling some at the shiver that the other gave at the sensation. 

“I know Gavin. I think that you’re just very good at playing the fool that people sometimes forget. But you use that to your advantage enough, don’t you?” Gavin hummed, rubbing his nose against Ryan’s cheek before pressing his face against Ryan’s neck, each words spoken giving a damp breath against the skin there. 

“Except you never forget, do you? You’ve always treated me as a bit of an idiot on the outside, but I’ve seen the way you watch me carefully, even when you think no one can see you in that mask.” Lips brushed over his ear and Ryan gave a shiver, his hand moving to grip Gavin’s hip tightly. “Does you in, thinking about how dangerous little old me is, doesn’t it? Do I get you going when I flirt with you and the others think I’m just teasing?” It felt sudden, but also as though they had both been working towards this since the day Ryan had entered the Fakes, and Ryan didn’t know what to say. “It’s okay, Ryan. I’m not just...acting out because of Dan and the MI5. I promise.” The thought had run across Ryan’s mind momentarily, but had vanished as Gavin’s lips pressed softly just under his jaw. 

“Gavin, we’ve been skirting around each other since day one. And this is the first time we’ve really been alone together in...a while now. This is-” he paused as Gavin shifted to slowly roll them, kissing hard to his pulse point as he slung a leg over Ryan to straddle his waist, “-only, er, inviet...inveit….the logical conclusion.” Gavin gave a small chuckle, sitting up some to run his hands over Ryan’s chest as he stared down at him, eyes bright in the small amount of light the streetlight outside offered through Ryan’s blinds. Ryan brought his other hand to rest on Gavin’s hip, watching as Gavin leant down, running his hands up to cup Ryan’s face before chapped lips pressed to his own. Letting his eyes flutter closed, he used the hands on Gavin’s hips to pull them flush together. 

“I’ve been trying to get you to take a proper interest in me for ages, you know. What’s finally changed?” Gavin asked, giving a small roll of his hips that had Ryan groaning softly. 

 

“Never had you alone in my bed before now.” Ryan answered honestly, causing Gavin to laugh as he pressed a hard kiss to Ryan’s mouth. Ryan kissed back for a long moment before rolling them, pinning Gavin to the bed as he broke the kiss with more than a little regret. “This...isn’t really the right time for this, though, is it?” Gavin fixed him with a look of confusion, pulling back as much as the mattress would allow him to. 

“Did I...do something wrong?” He asked, voice small as he watched Ryan carefully. Ryan shook his head, leaning down to gently press a kiss to the corner of Gavin’s mouth before pulling back a fraction. 

“No, you didn’t. I just...Gavin, I’m not into one night stands. And I’m really not into one night stands when you’re on some sort of weird danger rush.” Gavin frowned, brows furrowing at Ryan’s words for a moment before his eyes widened. 

“What? You think I’m just...Ryan, you bloody mong, I LIKE you. I like you quite a lot, actually. I wouldn’t just want to do...this…” He gestured between the two of him, a flush crossing his cheeks, “as a one night stand sort of thing. I don’t even...I can’t DO one night stands, I can barely do a proper flirt with someone unless I’m two sheets to the wind, Ryan.” Ryan hummed, leaning down to nuzzle the juncture of Gavin’s neck and shoulder as the young man continued to sputter, letting Gavin’s noises peter off before opting to speak. 

“I’m just saying, there’s no need to rush this, if this is a thing we want to do. Not unless you plan on running off with Dan when the two of you finally meet up?” It was a small fear that had been eating at him since Ben had left; what if Gavin felt the need to run off with Dan, what if he just took off and they never saw him again? Ryan didn’t fully think that Gavin would do that, not with his loyalties to Geoff and Michael especially, but he couldn’t be sure. 

“I wouldn’t do that.” Gavin’s voice cracked slightly as he reached up to cup Ryan’s face, fixing him with a sad little look. “I wouldn’t ever do that, Ryan, I wouldn’t slip into your bed and then just disappear, I promise.” Ryan’s breath hitched slightly at the intense look Gavin gave him, and he gave a silent nod before letting himself lean down for another kiss, Gavin’s arms wrapping around his neck to keep him in place before they broke for breath. 

“Okay. I’m going to trust you, but that still doesn’t mean we have to rush things, Gavin.” Gavin nodded, shifting slightly to pull Ryan down, shoving him a bit to move him until he lay on his back once more so that the hacker could curl up to his side, nearly burrowing against him. 

“Okay. That sound fair.” He stated, and Ryan wrapped an arm around him, pulling him closer as the two lay in silence for a bit, the only sound being the occasional car passing outside. The silence was broken by a snuffling sound, followed by the pad-pad-pad of large feet crossing the room before a large body flopped across them on the bed, causing Gavin to let out a soft ‘oof’ at the intrusion. 

“I hate your dog right now, Gavin.” Ryan whined, and Gavin gave a chuckle as Bond gave a half growl half bark, causing Ryan to shove at the large head pressed against his stomach. 

“But he loves you, lovely Ryan!” Gavin cooed, reaching to scratch behind Bond’s ear as he wiggled closer to the dog. “He just wants to be in on the love, Ryan. He’s lonely.” Ryan groaned, but reached down to pet the dog as he pulled Gavin tighter to him. 

“This is just something I’ll have to get use to, isn’t it.” He asked, voice flat as Bond wiggled to try and lick at Ryan’s face from where he lay across them. Gavin hummed in agreement, and Ryan sighed. “Alright, everyone go to sleep. We have a lot of stuff to do in the morning.” There was a moment of silence before Bond barked, rolling to curl up with them, and Gavin gave a giggle as he leant to press a kiss to Ryan’s jaw. 

“Could get use to this, maybe…” Ryan smiled, pressing a kiss to Gavin’s temple. 

“We’ll see.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to thank my new beta, gappylulu.tumblr.com, for fixing up this chapter! And I hope everyone enjoys the Geoff and Ryan scene because I loved writing it.

“What the hell.” Consciousness returned slowly to Gavin as he pressed into the warmth surrounding him, and he let out a small noise of discontent as a hand gently slapped him on the cheek in an attempt to rouse him. Groaning, he rolled over, burying his face in Ryan’s shoulder as, somewhere above him, someone laughed. 

“Aw, gross. Ryan’s drooling on Gavvers.” Gavin’s eye cracked open as Ryan gave a soft groan, and he spotted two figures leaning over them. 

“Michael? Geoff? What are you doing here?” Ryan’s voice was half muffled by Gavin’s hair, and it took Gavin a moment to register the names. Shifting to blink sleepily at the two men hovering over the bed, he frowned as Ryan moved to sit up some. 

“We came to collect the three of you. We got word from Burnie that Joel’s been working with someone who goes by the handle Kingsley? Might be connected to Dan.” Gavin pushed himself up, rubbing at his eyes with the heel of his hand as he let out a yawn to look at Geoff as the older man spoke. 

“That’s Ben. He’s a mate, he’s already been round here.” Michael’s brow rose as Gavin stretched, and beside the Brit Ryan pulled his hand from where it had rested on Gavin’s stomach, under his shirt. “He says he’s been working with Dan to find me, actually. Must not have looked very hard, we’re all over the bloody news every other week aren’t we?” Geoff rolled his eyes, reaching to ruffle Gavin’s hair as he gestured to the two men in the bed. 

“Right. I’m not going to ask about whatever this fuckery is, but I am going to demand that the two of you get up and put some fucking clothes on so we can go meet up with Joel.” Michael beamed at them over Geoff’s shoulder, and Gavin flushed as he waved off Geoff’s comment. 

“We’ll get up, go make some tea for me will you? Last night was rough.” Gavin’s cheeks reddened as he realized what his words could be read as, and he flailed slightly as he backtracked. “I mean because of Ben! Because of Ben and finding everything out about Dan. That’s what I mean.” Michael snorted, and Gavin threw a pillow at him, Bond giving a low growl as Michael threw the pillow back. Reaching to pat the dog lightly on his head, Ryan shifted to get out of the bed, stretching as he nodded towards the kitchen. 

“I’d appreciate it if you vacated the bedroom area so we can get ready now. Go make some tea like Gavin said. And I’m going to have to update my security system if you two idiots managed to get by it. No offense, uh, Geoff.” Geoff waved off the comment, catching Michaels sleeve to pull him into the kitchen to speak in hushed whispers. Ryan turned his attention back to Gavin, who had crawled to the edge of the bed to lean down for his duffle bag. Bond wiggled his way off the bed to pace the floor before turning to follow Geoff and Michael into the kitchen, while Ryan leant to pick up the bag that Gavin was trying to reach. 

“They’re going to make fun of us, you know that don’t you?” Gavin’s voice was almost the embodiment of a pout, and Ryan couldn’t help but chuckle as he handed the bag to the Brit. 

“Does it really matter if they do?”, he asked, curious of Gavin’s answer. He knew that the younger man had a weird sense to privacy to his life, and that he was a bit more sensitive than he tried to come across when it came to things that he cared about. He couldn’t help but wonder if Gavin wanted to hide whatever it was they were working towards. Taking the bag Gavin pulled it into his lap, unzipping it to pull out his clothing for the day. 

“I...no. I suppose it doesn’t, I just, they tease forever, Ryan. It’s relentless, and it gets old very quickly. I don’t want them to tease us about, well, us.” He frowned, and Ryan paused in pulling a shirt from his dresser to turn back to Gavin. 

“Well, even if they tease us about sleeping in the same bed, Gavin, it’s not like their opinions really matter when it comes to anything to do with us and our relationship. Just ignore them. We have more important things to worry about right now than Geoff and Michael being dicks.” Gavin’s lips quirked slightly upwards, and he tugged his pants from the bag before shifting to stand up, moving to press a hand against Ryan’s chest.

“I suppose we do, don’t we?” He asked, leaning up slightly to press a kiss just under Ryan’s jaw before reaching around him to snatch a soft looking grey sweater from the top of Ryan’s dresser. “I’ll go change in the bathroom then.” Ryan hummed, letting Gavin disappear into the bathroom before tugging on a pair of jeans, making his way into the kitchen to lean against the counter next to Geoff. 

“So what do we need to know about this Ben kid?” Geoff’s tone was carefree, but his demeanor as he moved to sit on Ryan’s counter was stiff with ill ease at the thought of someone having found Gavin already. Ryan shrugged slightly, reaching around Michael to pull out the mug Gavin favoured and setting it on the counter for the younger man to pour boiling water into. 

“He’s young and seems to be fairly proficient at what he does, and he seems to have connections with Dan. Gavin seems apt to believe that he isn’t about to murder us all. From the...maybe hour that he was here last night he seems...hmm.” Michael tilted his head to glance at Ryan, who gave a little shrug. “I don’t know. He seems like an alright kid, I guess, but who knows in this business. He could turn on us and murder us all for all I know.” The bathroom door opened, and three sets of eyes turned to watch Gavin exit, the Brit pausing as he stepped out of the room holding his night clothing to his chest, raising a brow as he caught their looks

“Yes?” Gavin asked, and Ryan shook his head as he gestured for him to join them in the living room. Tossing the clothing onto the bed, Gavin made his way into the kitchen area, Bond following behind him to sit at his feet as Gavin stood in front of the three men, arms crossed over his chest. 

“We’re talking about Ben. Are you sure we can trust him?” Geoff asked, watching Gavin carefully as Michael handed the hacker a mug of tea. Gavin took the drink from Michael with a smile, taking a sip as he gave a little shrug. 

“I trust him. I know people, and I know Ben...I’ve known him for years, even if we haven’t spoken in two of them. I think he’s telling us the truth about Dan.” Turning, he made his way to sit on the couch, settling against the cushions as he watched the others stand in the kitchen. 

“...Alright. I’m trusting your judgement here, Gavin. Don’t make me regret it.” Gavin rolled his eyes at Geoff’s words, shifting some to hold his mug away from him as Michael dropped over the back of the couch to sit next to him. “Joel says he has a meet up time for us of noon down at that little cafe down on the boardwalk with Ben. Kid has some information for us I guess, but will only talk to us if we’re with you or something.” Gavin nodded, leaning back against the cushions as Bond moved to sniff at Michael, the redhead making a face as he shoved the dog away from him some. Silence reigned for a long moment as they all watched Michael struggle with the dog, before Geoff turned his attention back to Gavin. “How’s the chest doing?” Gavin blinked owlishly at the question, and Geoff rolled his eyes. “From the fire. Jack said the paramedic told him that the smoke might have affected your lungs, and I know that you haven’t gone to see anyone since the fire for a check up. “ Gavin pressed his fingers to his chest with a frown. 

“A little congested if I do too much running around but otherwise not too bad. I feel fine, Geoff.” Geoff gave him a look over before nodding, accepting Gavin’s words at face value. “Actually, I haven’t really been thinking much on it, to be honest, but I’ll have to find an apartment after all this is dealt with. We can’t just live between Ryan’s sofa and the penthouse…” Gavin trailed off, frowning some at the thought. He hadn’t even been considering what would happen in the after of everything- where he would live, what he would do with the information that Dan was alive. He knew he wasn’t planning on leaving the Fakes, but beyond that…

“We can figure it out when we’re done figuring out all this stuff, Gavin. Don’t stress over it right now.” Michael’s voice was firm as he reached to wrap an arm around Gavin’s shoulder, pulling the man closer to head butt him lightly. Gavin offered him a smile, and Michael beamed at him. “Worse comes to worse, we can pimp you out to Ryan, make you his rent boy. You’re enough of a fucking twink for it to be a legit thing, right?” Gavin’s cheeks turned red, and he tried to shove Michael away with a sharp whine. 

“Alright, you two idiots go get your coats and meet us downstairs. Ryan and I will be down in a minute.” Geoff’s tone was firm, even as he reached to flick Michael’s ear with a light chuckle, and the two younger men moved to get up, Gavin draining the remainder of his tea before grabbing Bond’s leash, attaching it and making his way to the door to pull his shoes on. He shoved the lead into Michael’s hand before pushing the door open. Geoff and Ryan watched the two men leave before Geoff turned to Ryan, giving him a calculating look. 

“What?” Ryan asked, frowning as Geoff crossed his arms over his chest and watched him in silence for a long moment. “Jesus christ, Geoff, what are you looking at me like that for. What.” 

“I own like, so many guns.” Ryan’s brow raised, and Geoff leant forward slightly, crowding Ryan’s space as he stared intently at the taller man. “Like, so many, Ryan. I own your ass, as well, and I also control this entire town.” Geoff uncrossed his arms, taking a step towards Ryan to press a finger to the assassin’s chest as his voice dropped dangerously low. “I know that Gavin’s a fucking moron and an asshole, but if you hurt him you will go missing and no one will ever find your body. Do you understand me?” Ryan’s gaze remained steady on Geoff’s own, and he took a steady breath as he reached to grasp Geoff’s wrist, pulling the appendage away from his chest. 

“I understand that you feel some sort of obligation to protect your crew, Geoff, but I’m not going to hurt him. And I’m a part of this crew too. How do you know he’s not just messing with me? Hell, Geoff, how do I know you aren’t just making him do his seduction act on me?” Geoff’s expression hardened, and he reached out to fist the front of Ryan’s shirt, pulling him closer to get in his face. 

“I trust that you’re smart enough to know when you’re getting played. But I’ve seen Gavin get his heart broken, and I never want to see it again. So I want you to really think about things before you decide if you want to get involved with him, understood? We all have to work together, and while I like you, Haywood...Gavin’s like my kid. You fuck with him, in a manner that has nothing to do with him being a dick, and you deal with me. Understood?” Ryan watched Geoff for a moment, taking in the seriousness of the moment. Geoff had always come across as a rather aloof boss; a feared crime lord by day, but giving as good as any of the others in the tormenting and teasing that took place in their tight knit circle. Ryan had never really stopped to think about the dynamics between Geoff and Gavin before, but looking back on it…

“You care about him a lot, don’t you. I never really thought about it, but he’s been in the crew longest out of anyone besides Jack, as far as I know. He really is like family to you, isn’t he?” Thinking on it, Geoff had always spoiled Gavin and Michael the most of out anyone in the crew. While he could have argued that Michael was certainly Geoff’s favourite of the lads, the older man had an odd soft spot and weird understanding with Gavin that Ryan had never really focused on before. Geoff shrugged, pulling his hand from Ryan’s grip to take a step back, putting some space between them. 

“Like I said. Kid’s like a son to me, so don’t fuck with his heart. He didn’t look like he was just fucking around this morning.” Ryan grew quiet a moment before nodding, running a hand through his hair as he looked around the apartment. Gavin’s things were scattered about, from laptops to Bond’s dog toys. 

“Nothing’s going to be happening until we get all this stuff figured out. Dan and Ben and the MI5...we deal with this first and then Gavin and I will see where things go. But I promise you, Geoff, I’ll do my best to not break his heart if we go down that path.” Geoff nodded, reaching to give Ryan’s arm a light punch as he grinned at him. 

“Alright. Just, you know….I’m from Alabama man. It’s tradition to bust your balls over something like this. We should probably go see what the two idiots are getting into down there...god only knows which one will get into trouble first.” Ryan snorted, shaking his head as the two men moved to leave the apartment, eager to catch up with their companions.


	14. Chapter 14

“What do you think they’re talking about up there?” Gavin tilted his head, trying to gauge to see if he could spot any movement on the stairwell to Ryan’s floor. He pulled himself to sit on the roof of the black sedan that Geoff and Michael had arrived in earlier that morning. Michael gave a shrug, leaning between Gavin’s legs to wrap his arms around the Brit’s waist and resting his cheek on the other man’s thigh. Gavin awkwardly patted Michael’s head, giving his friend a concerned look as Michael sighed. 

“Geoff’s probably threatening Ryan’s balls or something. He does that any time you show an interest in someone who likes you back, you know that right?” Gavin gave an affronted sound,causing Michael to snort into the material of Gavin’s jeans. 

“He doesn’t actually do that, does he?” Gavin’s tone was just shy of offended, which caused Michael to laugh more as he pat the side of Gavin’s leg lightly. 

“He sure fucking does, boi. As soon as he catches on that you like someone he starts checking them out. It’s like he’s the ultimate redneck dad behind the front of running Los Santos. He’s one step away from pulling out a shotgun and cleaning it in front of potential suitors.” Gavin’s face paled slightly as he gaped, one hand moving almost subconsciously to run through Michael’s curls. There had always been a weird connection between the two young men; Michael hadn’t taken to Gavin immediately, but had latched on to the other man not long after Gavin had declared Michael his new best friend only weeks after they’d met. 

“Are you upset with me? About Ryan?” Gavin’s words were soft, and Michael shifted his head a bit to look up at the other man. Their gaze held for a long moment before Michael squeezed his arms tighter around the other man’s waist. 

“Nah, man. If Ryan’s what gets you going, power to you for taming that beast. I didn’t even know you had a thing for him though - which is probably the most upsetting part? What sort of boi doesn’t tell his boi when he has a massive crush on a crazy man in a mask?” He pouted, and Gavin gave a chuckle as he ruffled Michael’s curls. 

“I didn’t really think anything would come from it, Michael. Just seemed silly to mention it.” Michael gave a hum as the door to Ryan’s complex opened. Geoff lead the other man out as he continued to seemingly lecture him on something. Michael remained where he was, shifting slightly as Gavin turned his attention towards the two approaching men.

“Why are you sitting on the car? Get in you two, we have a meeting with Joel.” Gavin slipped off the roof, letting Michael guide him to his feet as the other man teasingly mimicked Geoff’s voice. Ryan chuckled from beside their leader, who narrowed his eyes at Michael before gesturing for everyone to get into the car. Once they were settled with Ryan in the front passenger seat while Michael and Gavin shared the back, Geoff took off onto the main road. The silence reigned for nearly ten minutes before Gavin cleared his throat, leaning between the two front seats. 

“Michael said you were probably busting Ryan’s balls, Geoffrey. Is that what you were doing in there? You do know I’m an adult, don’t you?” Geoff scoffed, reaching to pull a pair of sunglasses from the center console as he turned onto the highway. 

“No, you’re a piss baby who always comes crying to me when he gets his heart broken. I was just making sure Ryan wasn’t dicking around with you so I wouldn’t have to deal with that in the long run.” Gavin frowned and Ryan turned slightly in his seat, giving him a small smile as Geoff continued talking. “Alright, Joel’s pretty sure this guy’s legit, plus you claim to know him. What’s the game plan here?” Gavin settled back in his seat, thinking back on the events of the last few days. 

“First part of the plan is I meet up with Dan”, he stated firmly, giving a little nod while crossing his arms over his chest. “Second part is we pull any information the MI5 have on Dan, the lot of you and myself before sending them packing back to the U.K. I know they’re apparently here looking for Dan to bring him back over, but they made me nervous while I was still working for them, let alone now. I’d personally feel better if they were no longer in America.” There were noises of agreement around the car, and Gavin sighed. “We’ll figure that out once we meet up with Dan though.” Geoff quietly cleared his throat, glancing back in the rearview mirror at Gavin for a moment before speaking. 

“Are you ready to see him? You’re not gonna shit a brick as soon as you lay eyes on him right?” Gavin snorted, shaking his head. 

“No. I won’t shit a brick, Geoff. That’s disgusting.” Geoff grinned, and Michael snickered beside the Brit. “It’s going to be weird, I’ll admit that. But...well, I mean, I thought he was dead, didn’t I? It’s all a bit of a shock.” He didn’t want to admit that he wasn’t sure how he was truly feeling about the situation.

“Well, we have about twenty minutes to find out.” The car fell into a silence that lasted the rest of the ride to the cafe. Not a word was spoken as they parked, exited the car and made their way to the small cafe that sat on the end of the boardwalk.A few people were seated about the outside patio. Geoff pushed open the door, spotting Joel almost immediately; the older man had commandeered a table in the far back corner. There were two other men seated with him, one Gavin recognized as Ben, the other…

“Dan”, he whispered, pausing in the doorway of the cafe to stare at the serious-looking man seated between Joel and Ben. Michael bumped into him, rousing Gavin from his thoughts.a He shook his head to clear it, letting the other man enter the building around him as he took a steadying breath. Dan looked...almost the same, to be honest. Two years and he still had the same short hairstyle, though his beard was a bit more grown out and his face a bit more weathered, more scarred. It was almost painful to see the him, now. 

“You gonna be alright?” Geoff asked quietly, glancing from the hacker to the three men seated at the table as he placed a hand on Gavin’s back. Gavin gave a short nod and brushed past Ryan to start towards the table, stopping just before he reached Ben’s chair. Joel looked up and gave Gavin a small smile, but the Brit’s attention was focused on Dan. As the other man turned his head to look up at him with familiar hazel eyes, Gavin’s breath caught in his throat. 

“Hullo, B.” Dan sounded the same, his voice causing a shiver to run through Gavin as years of memories washed over him. He stood in silence for a moment, the others joining them as Dan shifted in his chair to face him properly. Gavin was torn between dropping to his knees to wrap himself around the other man or punching him. His hand raised, hovering slightly before he reached out to place it on Dan’s cheek. He was really there; rough, warm, and unshaven skin met his touch. He took a stuttering breath as he took in the new scars marring Dan’s face. He knew he himself had several new scars to add to his collection, but somehow Dan’s seemed to stand out almost like a beacon - he didn’t recognize them, didn’t know where they had come from. His fingers traced over a particularly deep looking scar that cut a path across the soft skin of Dan’s right cheek and over his upper lip. Dan remained silent, letting Gavin touch his face in an almost silent awe as his own eyes travelled over Gavin’s face to take in the changes to the other man’s face. Gavin drew his hand back, and the men all started at the slap that he brought back across the cheek he’d just touched. His brows furrowed as he glared at Dan who simply winced. 

“How bloody dare you. You fucking bastard.” His voice was tight, his entire body nearly shaking as he held his hand to his chest, glaring at the man seated before him. Geoff moved to touch Gavin’s shoulder, but stopped as Ryan put an arm out to keep him in place as they watched the interaction taking place. 

“I should have contacted you, I know, Gavin.” Dan’s voice was that of a realist; he knew his actions had wronged his friend, and he accepted whatever punishment Gavin would see fit without asking. “I wanted to, but it wasn’t safe and I didn’t know where they’d taken you, B.” Gavin remained silent as Dan moved to stand, hesitantly taking Gavin by the shoulders and rubbing his thumbs over the soft material of the other man’s shirt. “I’m sorry...I’m sorry I left you alone, that I didn’t find you sooner.” Gavin hesitated before reaching to loosely grasp Dan’s wrists, watching the pain of their separation wash over the other man’s face. 

“I wasn’t alone, Dan. I made friends. I just...I missed you. I thought you were dead, I...I saw them shoot you, B, I saw them shoot you point blank and I just believed them like an idiot!” Gavin’s shoulders shook under Dan’s hands, and the other man frowned as he shook his head. 

“That’s not fair, Gavin. I thought you were dead too. They were very, very convincing. I thought they’d burnt you alive, I saw them do it and I couldn’t do anything. I just let them take you.” Gavin took a step towards Dan, wrapped his arms around the other man’s waist and leaned to press his forehead to Dan’s as he took a slow, steadying breath. 

“You’re really alive.” The words were almost whispered, and Dan grinned as he wrapped Gavin in a bear hug and held him tight. 

“We’re both alive, B. We’re together again and that’s what matters, yeah? We’re together and nothing’s going to take you away from me again, understood?” Behind them, Ryan shifted nervously on his feet, wary of interrupting the reunion but unable to stop himself from wondering where, exactly, this left his and Gavin’s relationship. He’d never thought to question just how close the two men had been; hadn’t thought on what Dan’s return could mean for the delicate start they had to whatever it was they were doing now. He tried to tune out the quiet murmurings between the two men, instead turning his attention to the others to take in their reactions. 

Joel and Ben seemed content to continue their conversation quietly, eyes darting to Dan and Gavin every so often but otherwise remaining unobtrusive. Geoff watched the two carefully, wary of Dan and watching for any indication that he should remove Gavin from the situation. Michael stood in cold silence, his arms crossed over his chest and his lips pressed tightly together, and Ryan couldn’t help but wonder what the younger man might be thinking. Gavin was one of Michael’s best friends, if not his best - what would the return of Dan mean for the two young men who spent so much of their time together? It was a long moment later before Joel cleared his throat loudly, catching the attention of the entire group as all eyes focused on him. 

“Why don’t we all have a seat, and I can catch everyone up on where we are on this MI5 bullshit?” The group shared a look before moving to pull chairs and gather around the table, ready to start planning the take down of the agency that had crossed into their turf. 

And if Ryan settled a little closer to Gavin, no one seemed to notice.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warning: Animal injury
> 
> Also shout out to gappylulu, my beta, for putting up with me going 'don't hate me but what if...' 500 times a day xD

“There’s only three agents left here in Los Santos: Hamish Wraite, Jeremiah Scrout and Mitchell Wells. They’ve been trying to find Daniel here, but he’s managed to stay off their radar for the most part. The only problem is that they’re hiding in plain sight - as MI5 agents, they’re given pretty much free run of the place whenever they’re here. LSPD isn’t exactly the CIA here.” Joel’s hands moved constantly as he spoke, something that Gavin had noticed the few times he’d worked with the officer. As the group of men seated around the table took in his words,Gavin took the opportunity of Joel speaking to watch Dan from across the table. He was conscious of Ryan’s arm draped over the back of his chair almost possessively, a warm weight against his back as he shifted in his seat. 

“So how do we get them somewhere that gets them out of their comfort zone and into our turf?” Michael’s question was spoken almost casually, the table falling quiet at the words. Gavin let his gaze drift from Dan to the red haired man for a moment to watch as Michael swiped a thumb across his nose. 

“We lure them out. Or, rather, I lure them out to a place pre-determined by Ramsey. They’re here for me, after all.” Dan’s voice was soft as it broke the silence, and Gavin refocused on his friend as Dan leant back in his seat. “They’re going to come for me if I make an outright challenge. Insult them enough and they’ll charge in without much thought. I’ve been dogging them pretty much this whole time, they’re biting at the chomp to get me.” Gavin let his gaze drift from Dan to Ben, watching as the younger man smiled shyly at Joel as the policeman waved off Dan’s words. 

“Even if we set up a pre-determined interaction there’s no promise that they won’t scope out the area ahead of time. You should let me set something up, they don’t suspect me. They trust me, I think.” He frowned, and Gavin cleared his throat as he leant forward, elbows on the table in front of him. 

“Why don’t I contact them?” he asked, glancing around the table at his companions. Joel, Ben and Michael seemed to consider the idea, while Geoff’s scowl was nearly as pronounced as Ryan’s. The two men shook their heads almost in unison. 

“No, not happening B. You’re staying where it’s safe if I can help it.” Dan’s words felt like a punch to the gut, and Gavin gaped at Dan for a moment before slapping his hand on the table, scowling at his oldest friend. 

“You’re not allowed to tell me what I can and can’t do, B. I’m a grown man and I’ll do what I please. I can take care of myself.” Dan’s expression softened slightly, and Gavin let him take his hand as the other man reached out for him.

“Gavin, you’ve always been able to take care of yourself. But I just found you again, B...I can’t lose you.” Gavin took in the expression on Dan’s face; determination, worry, and finally deep, underlying fear. Gavin twisted his hand in Dan’s to squeeze lightly, giving him a stern look. 

“I’m not going anywhere, B. Either you all let me help, or I’m just going to go and do it on my own.” Ryan cleared his throat, causing Gavin to raise a brow as he shifted to look at him. 

“Why don’t you tell us your idea, Gavin? We can figure out what we want to do from there.” Gavin shot him a grateful smile, and Ryan tipped his head in acknowledgement. 

“Well, they’re looking for me because Dan’s looking for me, right? But they don’t know that I know who Dan is. Or...I mean they don’t know that I know who Dan is. Right? Right. So they think that I think there’s an assassin just roaming about looking for me. So maybe I ask for their help. Ask them to meet me someplace to discuss it. You lot can get there beforehand, set up, hide and such. Then we just...you know. Kill them.” The group seemed to think on Gavin’s idea for a moment before Geoff heaved a sigh, running a hand over his face. 

“Well, it’s either that or we call them in, tell them we have some information regarding Dan’s whereabouts. Send them into an ambush, take them out as a team. I’d prefer going my route, Gavin. It’ll be more controlled that way.” Geoff seemed to have aged ten years during their conversation - he looked exhausted, and Gavin suddenly felt bad about having dragged his crew into something that didn’t involve them. 

“Geoff...maybe Dan and I should deal with this on our own? You’ve got the Brillian Heist to think about, there’s going to be a lot of prep work to start for that soon…and this really is our problem, not yours.” Geoff shot him a dirty look, causing Gavin to shrink back against Ryan. 

“Don’t be a dickhole, dude. There is no ‘your problem, my problem’ bullshit in this crew and you know it. You need us to cover you, we cover you. You get into shit, we get you out. Just like when we had to bail out Michael from the O’Duggan incident, or when we helped Ryan with the Edgar issue. Understood?” Gavin’s lip twitched at Geoff’s seriousness, and he gave a curt nod. 

“Sir, yes sir”, he stated teasingly. Geoff let out a snort, reaching to shove Gavin’s face with the palm of his hand before turning to Joel. 

“So what’s the easiest way to get in contact with these assholes?” 

+++

“Gavin, get the door. The door. Get th- oh come on!” Ryan’s words were muffled behind the brown paper bags of the groceries the two men had picked up after the meeting had concluded. Gavin entered the apartment’s lobby before him, jogging ahead without holding the door open and leaving Ryan to struggle with the handle as he juggled the bags. “Goddammit, Gavin, it takes two seconds to hold the door open, what if I dropped the eggs?” The door swung open again, Gavin’s apologetic expression causing Ryan’s own to soften as the Brit held open the door for him. 

“Sorry, sorry Rye. I’m just, you know, everything’s a little too...much-y, right now. You know?” Ryan’s brow rose as Gavin shifted to take one of the bags from Ryan, flashing him a grin. “I’m just, wow. Dan’s alive. I wish he’d come back with us but I get why he didn’t.” Ryan nodded, following Gavin to the elevator and watching as the younger man pressed the up button excitedly. 

“He’s safer staying where he’s at. He’s smart.” Gavin nodded at Ryan’s words, tapping his foot as they waited for the elevator to reach the ground floor. “Do you want to help me make supper?” Gavin nodded, and Ryan smiled as the elevator doors opened, stepping in and waiting for Gavin before pressing the button for his floor. 

“Geoff never lets me help him cook”, Gavin stated, shifting his weight from foot to foot as they moved upwards. Ryan cast a sidelong glance at the other man, snorting as Gavin gave him a questioning look. 

“Geoff doesn’t seem like he’d let anyone help him cook, to be fair. Look at how he reacted to Michael using the BBQ without asking.” Gavin’s grin stretched from ear to ear at the memory of Michael angrily slapping meat onto the grill as Geoff screeched at him from the balcony above during the previous summer. 

“Fair. He’s not really one for sharing when it comes to his cooking, is he?” Ryan shook his head as the door pinged open, stepping out into the hallway and letting Gavin lead them towards the apartment door. He was on alert, checking to see if anything in the hall seemed suspicious, but everything seemed normal and he paused only momentarily to dig out his keys and unlock the door. Pushing it open, he let Gavin enter, closing and locking the door firmly behind them as they made their way into the apartment. 

Gavin placed the bag he held on the ground as he bent to untie his shoes.Ryan toed his own off before turning to put his own bag beside Gavin’s. He then took Gavin’s coat to hang up in the small closet next to the door before taking off his own. Gavin picked up the bags, making his way to the kitchen as he whistled for Bond. Ryan hung up his own coat before pausing to take in how domestic it felt to return home with Gavin and groceries. He reached to straighten the sleeve of Gavin’s jacket, jumping slightly as a loud bang came from behind him. Turning quickly, he immediately spotted the cause; Gavin had dropped both bags of groceries and was now staring at something in the kitchen. 

“Gavin?” Ryan moved towards the other man, brows furrowed as he reached Gavin’s side and noted that he seemed to be shaken. Following Gavin’s line of sight, Ryan couldn’t help the low gasp at what greeted him. 

“Bond.” Gavin’s voice cracked as he called his dog’s name, his hands reaching forward even as his legs seemed to be locked in place. Bond lay on the floor, breathing shallowly and letting out low whines as though each breath was a struggle. His mouth foamed slightly, his body giving little convulsions as Gavin let out a pained gasp and dropped to his knees. He crawled across the floor to place his hand on the dog’s side. “Ryan, Ryan do something, he’s dying.” Ryan moved quickly, handing Gavin the car keys and leaning to sweep the dog up into his arms the best as he could. 

“There’s an emergency vet two blocks from here. Come on, the faster we get him there, the faster they can pump his stomach.” Gavin nodded, swiping at his eyes as he followed Ryan back out of the apartment, bypassing the elevator to hurry down the stairs. 

“Is he going to be okay?” Gavin’s voice was small, and Ryan chanced glancing back at him as he took the stairs two at a time, taking note of the pale pallor of Gavin’s cheeks. 

“We can’t know until a vet sees him, Gavin. But he’s a pretty strong dog. Hopefully he wasn’t lying there a long time.” Gavin’s face, if possible, paled even more at the thought of the dog having been laying in the kitchen convulsing the entire time that they were gone. His fists tightened, crinkling the piece of paper that Ryan hadn’t noticed the other man had been holding. “What’s that in your hand?” Gavin glanced at the hand holding the keys, frowning, before looking at the paper clutched in his fist. 

“It’s a note from Agent Wells. Either I help them, or next time they kill not just my dog, but you.” As they reached the ground floor, Gavin shoved the door leading out of the stairwell to the parking lot open, lips pressed tightly together as he lead Ryan to his parking spot. Unlocking the car, Gavin pulled the back seat door open, crawling in and opening his arms for Ryan to deposit the dog into. Tossing the keys to the older man, Gavin pulled his feet back a bit so Ryan could close the door before getting into the driver’s seat and starting the car. 

“We have a plan now. They won’t have a chance to hurt anyone once we get things set up.” Gavin grunted as he shifted the dog in his lap, and Ryan turned his concentration towards driving as the car fell into silence, Gavin’s attention on Bond. 

“They’re going to pay for this, Ryan. They hurt my dog and they tried to keep Dan from me. They don’t know what they’ve just done.” Gavin’s voice was dark, his face hidden from Ryan’s view in the rearview mirror, and Ryan couldn’t help the shiver that ran down his spine at Gavin’s dark tone. 

He had a feeling that the MI5 didn’t know quiet what they’d released in the other man.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been having some problems writing Dogs (and also I just moved hello internet I'm back) But I don't want to stop this story if people are enjoying it so I'm gunna push through the writers block on this one.

They had spent seven hours at the emergency vet before the vet had come out to talk to them, Gavin sitting silently with his eyes glued to the door that Bond had disappeared through for the entire time. Bond would be okay, they’d been told, and the two men had loaded the dog into Ryan’s SUV and driven out to the boardwalk at Gavin’s insistence. 

“We can’t go back to your place,Ryan, ...where do we go? We aren’t ready yet, we need to...to…” Gavin’s hands picked almost frantically at the SUV’s dashboard, brow furrowed as he spoke. Ryan reached across the console, grabbing Gavin’s hands in one of his own to still them. 

“We’ll go back to the penthouse and put everyone on high alert. If we have an active guard going on, it’ll be that much more difficult for those agents to get to you.” Behind them, Bond gave a soft whine, slowly waking up from the anesthesia the vet had administered to sedate him. Gavin turned awkwardly in his seat, reaching to pet the dog soothingly as he worried his lower lip between his teeth. 

“I don’t like this. They have to know I’m not going to help them. Not now, not after they tried to kill Bond. What are they playing at?” Ryan shrugged, settling back in his seat as he watched Gavin stroke his hand along the dog’s back, a nervous energy hanging in the air between them. 

“I’m not sure, Gavin. Let’s head to the penthouse, get Bond settled and figure out what we should be doing. Hey. Look at me.” Gavin frowned, turning back around to look at Ryan. 

“What, Ryan?” Ryan reached to take Gavin’s hands, rubbing his thumbs over the younger man’s knuckles. Gavin’s gaze shifted from their hands to Ryan’s face, prompting the other man to smile in return. 

“You’re alright.” Gavin’s face scrunched up as he gave him a baffled look, and Ryan leant across the gear shift to pull him into a kiss, his hands moving to cup Gavin’s face before pulling away and pressing their foreheads together. “Take a breath and make sure Bond’s settled and we’ll go. Alright?” Gavin nodded, and Ryan moved to pull his seat belt back on, waiting for Gavin to sit forward before turning the vehicle back on and heading towards the penthouse. 

+++

Jack sat on the couch, a mug of hot chocolate balanced on his stomach and his feet up on the cushions as he read an article on the latest in cargobob upgrades.Somewhere behind him, Michael’s voice could be heard;Geoff had gone to meet with Burnie while Michael, Jeremy and Ray had wandered into the conference room to lay out some blueprints in preparation for their part in The Plan. Jack had taken it upon himself to relax while everyone was working, an opportunity that he didn’t often get when herding the rest of the crew around. 

He barely glanced up as the door to the penthouse swung open, shifting ever so slightly to listen for the tell-tale pinging of the security system that allowed the alarm to be deactivated. Whoever had entered kicked the door closed with a soft grunt. 

“Jack, can I get you to move please? I need to put this dog down, he weighs a lot.” Jack’s attention was pulled from his magazine to look up at Ryan, taking in the dog that the other man was struggling to hold. Jumping up, he offered the couch to Ryan and watched as he laid Bond down. His attention shifted from the animal to the entranceway where Gavin was pacing, his hand running anxiously through his hair. 

“What happened?” Putting his mug down on the coffee table, he moved to take Gavin by the shoulders, stilling his pacing. He stooped slightly to look the younger man in the eyes. 

“They poisoned Bond, Jack. We just spent forever in the emergency veterinary center while they fixed him up, but they bloody well tried to kill my dog.” Jack glanced back to where Ryan had taken a small white pharmacy bag from his coat, watching as he pulled out a small needleless syringe and gave the dog some medication in the corner of his mouth. 

“They got into Ryan’s?” Gavin made a distressed noise and darted into the kitchen. Jack raised a brow to catch Ryan’s attention, moving to take the medication from him and gesturing for the other man to go tend to Gavin, who had begun to frantically open and close every cupboard, seemingly looking for something. Ryan gave him a nod and moved to step in front of Gavin, giving him a concerned look as his eyes darted from the Brit to where he was moving cans on one of the shelves. 

“They broke in while we were getting groceries. Gavin, what are you doing?” Gavin gave a little half shrug, pushing a stack of cans to the side to feel along the back corner of the cupboard before pushing the cans back and searching the other side. 

“They have to have bugged us or something to know how to even get to your place, Ryan. We were super careful, we took every precaution. It doesn’t make any sense.” Ryan frowned, reaching to grab Gavin’s hands and tug him a step close. 

“They’re trained to hunt people down, Gavin. They probably knew where I lived this whole time. If they had bugged us, they probably took them away as soon as we left and the others stopped talking about us here.” Gavin’s frown deepened, prompting Ryan to pat the hands in his own. “Why don’t you go see where the other lads are while Jack and I take care of things in here. I think you need a few minutes to wind down before you make yourself sick with stress.” Gavin stilled, nodding stiffly before turning to venture to where Michael and Ray could be heard arguing in the hall. Ryan ran a hand through his hair, turning back to Jack as the other man moved to put the syringe in the sink. 

“He’s pretty upset over this.” Ryan’s brow furrowed, and Jack rose a hand half heartedly. “Understandably. He’s not usually a target for people, being mostly behind the scenes unless we need him to manipulate someone. I can see why he’d be so upset, especially when they’ve already burnt down his home and poisoned his dog...it’s enough to put anyone on edge.” Giving a curt nod, Ryan returned to the couch to pet Bond’s head as the dog lay quietly on the cushions. 

“I’m worried, Jack. We don’t have a whole lot of time to prepare for this, and these men...no one’s ever broken into my apartment before. No one’s ever been in it besides me...I have several security measures. Gavin’s right- there must have been bugs in the penthouse for them to have found my place. Which makes me wonder if someone is giving away our secrets here.” His expression darkened, and Jack frowned. 

“Like one of the crew?”, he asked, and Ryan shook his head. 

“No, I trust the crew. Geoff knows who’s on his side and who isn’t, and if Gavin and Michael trust the people around us then I’m inclined to trust their judgement. There have been other people in here though, like the technician Geoff had in to fix the surround sound while Gavin and Jeremy were in San Andreas. Who's to say that they weren’t a MI5 agent in disguise?” There was silence for a moment as both men considered Ryan’s words before Jack cleared his throat, nodding towards the couch. 

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it now but take more precautions around the penthouse. They have to know that we know that someone was in here planting bugs. They know we aren’t idiots.” Ryan nodded at Jack’s words, while the bearded man moved to kneel next to the dog, frowning sadly as he pet Bond’s head soothingly. “Who the hell expects someone to help them after hurting their dog?” Ryan shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched Jack. 

“I don’t know, but I don’t particularly like it. They think they can manipulate Gavin through murdering his dog, threatening me...they know a lot more about Gavin than I thought they did.” Jack’s frown deepened, and Ryan let out a sigh. “I don’t know, Jack, but I can’t wait for this to be over.” Jack nodded, and stood up. 

“Soon. It’ll all be over soon, man.” 

+++

Gavin pushed the door to the conference room open slowly, three sets of eyes turning to look at him in surprise as he gave his friends a weak smile. “Hullo, lads. What are we doing here then?” Michael frowned, moving around the conference table to stand in front of Gavin and placing a hand on the slighter man’s shoulder. 

“What are you doing here, Gavin? I thought the plan was for you and Ryan to go back to his place for the night?” Gavin chewed on his lower lip, and Michael’s frown deepened. “What happened?” 

“They found us. They broke into Ry’s and poisoned Bond.” Jeremy made a noise of distress, and Gavin flashed him a small smile. “We got him to the vet in time, he’s alright. But they left a note...threatening Ryan.” Ray made a face, leaning his hip against the table. 

“They aren’t going to be able to really do anything to Ryan though, like, Ryan’s pretty hard to sneak up on. Dude takes being creepy to a whole new level.” Gavin chuckled a bit at that, and Ray grinned at him. 

“Yeah, but they broke into his place, Ray. I just...I’m getting tired of all this, I want it to end. I want to go back to planning the Brillian heist and just...not constantly having to look over my shoulder, you know?” Ray hummed in acknowledgement, while Michael wrapped an arm around Gavin’s shoulder. 

“It’ll be over soon, Boi. We’re going to make them regret ever coming to America.” Gavin gave him a weak smile, and Michael squeezed his shoulder in return. “Hey. We’re going to look after you. That’s what we do, we look after each other, right?” Nodding, Gavin let out a slow breath. 

“I’m just worried. I don’t want any of you to get hurt on account of me. And I’m worried about Dan and Ben...and Joel.” Michael nodded in acknowledgement, and Ray reached out to pat Gavin’s arm. 

“Hey, we’ve all survived this long, right? We’re going to be alright. Now, do you wanna go play a round or two of Mario Party to get your mind off of things?” Gavin gave a small nod, and Ray beamed as Jeremy moved to trap them all in a bear hug. 

“Jeremy, get off!”,Gavin squealed, shoving at the sudden weight against him. Jeremy cackled, and Michael groaned as he slipped out of the other man’s grasp. 

“Let’s go play some vid-ya games, you assholes.”


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so, so sorry that all my writing is taking forever. Between being promoted at work (yay me I'm an adult!) and my grandmother passing away, life has been incredibly hectic. Please don't give up on me! Once again, huge shout out to my beta gappylulu over on tumblr, she keeps me from giving up on life and writing as we know it.

Gavin sat quietly in the middle of the cafe, hands nervously folding the napkin on the table in front of him. After many hours of debating just who should meet with Wells, the decision had been reached that Gavin was the most likely to get their attention. A line had been put out, and Wells had contacted him through Joel almost immediately to set up a meeting point to discuss Gavin’s potential aid in finding and capturing the ‘rogue agent’. Gavin had insisted that he wouldn’t meet anywhere but the Bragg Cafe, and Wells had agreed on the terms that Gavin would come alone to the meeting. 

What the man didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him, Gavin supposed, eyes trained on the door as he fiddled with the gaudy gold necklace that hid the wire that he wore. Geoff had insisted that he wear the wire, Dan and Ryan had agreed wholeheartedly, and Gavin had barely made it out the door without the three of them locking him in a room to keep him from going. Now, sitting at the table, he wondered if the others had had the right idea. 

“Don’t do anything to make him see you as a threat, Gavin. Remember, he’s a government agent, he can justify shooting a man in the middle of a cafe”, Geoff’s voice said in his ear, and Gavin frowned as he cast a sideways glance towards where Geoff was hidden behind the swinging door leading to the cafe’s kitchen. 

“I bloody well know that, don’t I?”, he hissed, smiling brightly up at the waitress as she brought him the mocha and slice of cake he’d ordered earlier. She smiled back, placing the items on the table before taking off, and Gavin’s attention was drawn back to the front door of the cafe as the bell went off, alerting him of a new arrival. 

Wells caught his eye almost immediately, wandering through the cafe to take a seat across from Gavin as he gestured to the waitress with his mug for a coffee for himself. Nodding to Gavin, he settled comfortably in his chair and looked him over before clearing his throat. 

“So you’ve decided to help us?” Gavin shrugged slightly, and Wells snorted as he moved to lean his elbows on the table. “Decided you might not win if you continue to resist assisting us?” Gavin’s eyes narrowed, and Wells chuckled. 

“I just want this all to end, Agent Wells. If that means meeting with you, well, here I am.” Shifting back in his seat, he turned his gaze from Wells to the front counter to casually watch Matt stealthily settling behind the coffee machine, watching them under the illusion of cleaning it. 

“But I’m not going to pretend I’m happy to do it. You murdered my dog. You burned down my flat. I did everything you told me to do, and you still hunted me down. You won’t tell me who this person I’m suppose to be helping you find is, which is suspicious.” 

He folded his hands on the table, one eyebrow raising as he leaned forward slightly. “Are you worried that I won’t help you find this person if I know who it is?” He watched Wells carefully, noting the slight change in his demeanor at the question. “Or are you certain that I won’t help you once I know who it is? Because, c’mon, let’s be honest here. If I knew it was Dan that you were hunting down, I would have done everything in my power to stop you, isn’t that right?” He smirked as the colour drained from Wells’ face, and he unfolded his hands and began eating his cake. In his ear he heard Geoff curse, and he couldn’t help but chuckle under his breath. 

“How did you find that out?” Wells’ voice was steady, and Gavin could almost believe he was holding control if not for the slight tremor in his hand as he reached for his coffee. Taking a bite of his cake, Gavin shrugged as he continued to watch him. 

“I infiltrated the MI5 when I was eighteen, Agent Wells. Do you really think I’d be unable to find out who you were trying to send me after?” Wells sputtered, and Gavin pointed his fork at him.

“You know by now that we’ve already killed two of you. Do you really want to join them? As we speak, Wraite and Scrout are being tracked back to that tiny dump of a motel that the three of you moved to after we took out McKay and Black. So why don’t you order yourself something to eat while we discuss just how Ramsey and his men are about to kill you.” 

He flashed a cold smirk, placing his fork on his plate. “The more you talk, the longer you get to live.” Wells let his gaze travel around the room, giving a deep sigh as he realized that several of the men seated around the cafe were familiar from the MI5’s files for Ramsey and his cohorts. 

“Very well played, Mr. Free. I must say, I underestimated your prowess. I should have known better, given your previous success rate with the agency, I suppose.” Gavin shrugged, and Wells cleared his throat. “I know when I’ve been defeated, Mr. Free. You have me surrounded. Quite literally, if I”m not mistaken.” 

“You don’t seem too concerned about your imminent demise, Agent Wells. Why is it that none of you agents seem surprised right before I end your lives?” It had been nagging at him since McKay - the agents all seemed to accept their deaths far too easily, as though they were expecting it. Wells chuckled, taking a long, slow drink from his coffee before lazily waving his hand, as though gesturing to a crowd. 

“It’s all a game for Alistar now, Mr. Free. Her Majesty shut down our entire division of the MI5; our form of a gentleman’s assassination is no longer needed, we’ve been told. Alistar did not take the dismissal well. Nor did most of the agents. Daniel finding out about your being alive wasn’t an accident, Gavin. Alistar planned it all out. He wanted us to have to hunt you down. It’s just a game to him now, and frankly we’re all tired. We’ve done things we aren’t proud of now, and we’re done with this life.” Gavin frowned, tilting his head slightly to the side. 

“Then why don’t you just leave the agency, go on with your lives?” Wells shook his head, and Gavin’s frown deepened as he waited for him to speak. 

“There’s no leaving the agency. Not when it’s been our lives for so long. We knew what we were in for when we took this mission. There were no illusions that any of us would be coming back alive. Frankly, I think that’s why we all took the mission. Act the part, but in the end we knew we wouldn’t make it out alive.” Gavin’s brow furrowed as he took in the words while Wells finished his coffee. Setting the mug down gently on the table, he asked, “Might I make a request?” Gavin nodded for him to go ahead. “If I come easily, could you do these old bones a favour and make it a quick death for me?” 

“Tell him if he comes quietly, I’ll put him down nice and easy. He was always polite to us, Gavin.” Dan’s voice in his ear almost made him jump, and he collected himself before clearing his throat. 

 

“That can be arranged. Daniel is waiting outside for you. I’ll pay the bill...consider it your last meal.” The agent nodded, moving to stand but pausing as he took in Gavin once more. 

“It’s just the three of us left here, Mr. Free. Once you’ve taken care of myself, Waite and Scrout there aren’t any other MI5 agents here looking for you or Mr. Gruchy. However, Alistar may not simply give up. Keep that in mind.” Gavin watched as Wells made his way out of the cafe, slumping in his chair once Dan alerted them that he had the agent in his custody. Staring at his plate, he sighed softly, only glancing up once the seat Wells had occupied was filled with another body. 

“You alright, buddy?” Glancing up, Gavin gave Geoff a small smile. 

“Alright as I can be, I suppose. That’s the end of that, right?” His smile fell at the serious look Geoff gave him, and he let out a huff of breath as he settled back in his chair before continuing. “That’s the end of it for now. We have things to do and I’m not about to spend my days looking over my shoulder. If he comes for us, he comes. And we deal with it then. Alright?” Silence sat between them for a long moment before Geoff chuckled lightly. 

“Yeah, alright. Although, there’s still clean up and finding you a new place and shit, not to mention Joel needs to have you erase some security footage from when the agents were here. Jack says Bond’s doing alright, by the way. Back to trying to eat all my shoes, thanks for that. Train your fucking dog better.” Gavin smirked, and Geoff reached out to touch Gavin’s arm gently. “You can stay at the penthouse for now, Gav. Just so I can be sure no one else is out there looking for you.” Gavin patted Geoff’s hand before reaching to pat the side of his face. 

“Aw, Geoffrey. You care!” Geoff frowned, reaching to knock Gavin’s hand away from his face. 

“Yeah, I care, asshole. So stop putting yourself in danger. Jesus christ, Gavin, he could have just shot you in here.” Gavin’s expression softened, and he reached to squeeze Geoff’s hand before letting it go. 

“It’s alright, Dad. I’m alright. Promise.” Geoff made a face, nose wrinkling at Gavin’s words. 

“Ugh, don’t call me dad. Jesus christ, Gavin, we use to sleep together, don’t make it weird.” Gavin beamed, pushing his chair away from the table as he spotted Ryan entering the cafe and waved at him. 

“But Geoff, I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t make it weird. Ryan! Lovely Ryan, take me home now will you? I want to see my dog.” Ryan raised a brow at the request, casting a look at Geoff for his approval. Geoff nodded, and Ryan slipped an arm around Gavin’s shoulders to steer him around the tables on their way out of the cafe, leaving Geoff behind. Geoff sighed, reaching to pull Gavin’s remaining cake to him. Picking up his fork, he took a bite, letting out a frustrated noise as he chewed. 

“That asshole’s going to be the death of me.” Somewhere on the other end of the wire, Dan huffed in agreement, and Geoff let out a laugh.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that, my friends, is that! Thank you all so much for sticking around to the end with me! I hope you all enjoyed this story. Bond was my favorite part of it, as as I told Gappylulu, he is clearly the best member of the FAHC. I'll still be updating Accident and Blood (hopefully in the next week- my beta starts university in a few days so there's some settling in that must be done, so proud of yooooou my precious child) and keep an eye out for my next project, a AH/Teen Wolf xover. Oh yeah. This is about to happen.

“We still need to talk about...well, all of this, Gavin. What we plan on doing, where you’re going to stay. Don’t think you’re getting out of this conversation.” Gavin rolled his eyes, shifting the gun in his hand and giving Geoff a fixed look over the top of Ryan’s kitchen table as he deftly unloaded the weapon. Ryan and Dan sat in the living room, an awkward silence heavy between them as the two men watched Gavin and Geoff in the kitchen. 

“We really don’t, actually. I’ll be staying with Ryan for now, that’s been decided, and the MI5 has been dealt with. What’s there to discuss, Geoff? Everything’s fine, and we can move along now.” Geoff frowned, reaching across the table to take the weapon from Gavin’s hand before placing it down between them, a stern look on his face. 

“Uh, no, Gavin, it’s not all fine and we can’t just move along. What are you going to do about…” Geoff gave an almost subtle nod towards the living room where Dan sat, and Gavin frowned. 

“What do you mean, what am I going to do? He’s going to work with us, isn’t he? That’s the logical conclusion to all this.” Geoff sighed, and Gavin crossed his arms over his chest. “What?” 

“Did you ask him if that’s what he wanted to do? You can’t just decide things like that for people, Gavin. Seriously. And did you bother thinking about how Ryan’s going to feel about your dead husband returning from war all of a sudden?” Gavin made a face, wrinkling his nose at Geoff’s words as he shifted in his seat, twisting to look over his shoulder at the two men in the living room. 

“Why should it matter to Ryan if Dan stays? Dan’s my best mate, he’s a solid mercenary and he knows his way around weapons. He’d be an asset to the crew, Geoff.” Geoff sighed, rubbing a hand over his face as he leaned back in his chair. 

“Well shit, Gav, I wouldn’t want the guy my lover moved to a different continent to forget about to suddenly return from being presumed dead. That would make me awfully fucking nervous about where I stood with him.” Gavin’s frown deepened, and Geoff gestured to where the two men were attempting to start a conversation. “Look at how painfully awkward that is. I can feel the awkwardness physically, Gavin. You need to deal with this, you can’t just run away and hope it works itself out. Do you understand me?” Gavin’s mouth opened as though to argue Geoff’s words, but closed it again at the look the other man gave him. 

“You know, you aren’t really my dad, Geoff. You do know that, right?” Geoff snorted, reaching across the table to ruffle Gavin’s hair with a smirk. 

“Admit it, I’m the closest thing you’ve got to one. Seriously, Gavin, it’s time to decide what you want to do. Who you want to stick with. You have some unsorted feelings with you and Dan, and Ryan has pretty much fallen for you, dude. Be an adult and decide what the fuck you want.” Gavin frowned, shifting out of Geoff’s reach as Bond trotted into the kitchen to sit at Gavin’s feet. Gavin reached to scratch behind the dog’s ear, sighing softly. 

“There was never anything between Dan and I, Geoff. Not like that. We’re like brothers, we grew up together, took care of each other. And while, yes, I’m incredibly happy to know he’s alive and yes, I’d very much like it if he’d stay and work with us, it’s because he’s family. Not because I’m in love with him.” Geoff watched him a moment before nodding, and the two turned to where Dan seemed to be trying to engage Ryan in conversation. Gavin snickered, running a hand through his hair before pushing himself from the table and stretching his arms over his head, letting out a small moan as his spine cracked. 

“B, I should probably head out in a minute or two, I have a few things to finalize if I’m going to stay here a bit. Ramsey...if you have a few moments, I’d like to arrange a meeting with you? I’d like to stay here, in Los Santos, though I wouldn’t want to overstep any boundaries.” Geoff nodded, moving to stand before following Dan onto the balcony, leaving Ryan and Gavin to stare at each other in awkward silence. 

“You know I never had romantic feelings for Dan.” Gavin’s words were almost a question, and Ryan raised a brow as Gavin moved to settled on the couch with him, pressing his body against Ryan’s in an attempt to express his words non-verbally. “He’s like my brother, you know? Not...not like an old lover.” Ryan remained silent - Gavin’s anxiety rising the longer it took him to respond - before clearing his throat. 

“I was wondering that, I’m not gonna lie Gavin. The way you talked about him, the way you reacted when you saw him...I was worried about where we stood. Where our relationship stood. If, uh...if we had a relationship to be standing anywheres. It’s sort of comforting to know you guys were never romantic.” Gavin gave Ryan a soft smile, reaching to lightly pat his cheek. 

“I like you, Ryan. A lot. I wouldn’t agree to stay here with you if I didn’t. And I’m loyal to Geoff, to the others. I’m not going anywhere. But I also would like it if Dan could stay. We have two years of catching up to do, and now that I know he’s alive...it’s amazing, and I’m so happy, because now it’s like I have these two bloody amazing people in my life, my brother and my…” he trailed off, unsure as to what he should label the two of them, and Ryan chuckled. 

“I’m okay with boyfriends, if you want. If that’s okay?” Gavin nodded, leaning his head against Ryan’s shoulder as Dan and Geoff came back into the apartment. 

“Everything alright here?”, Geoff asked, giving Gavin a questioning look as he made his way to Ryan’s rocking chair that was tucked in the corner. Gavin nodded, a bright smile on his face, and Dan moved to sit on the couch beside him, patting his shoulder with a grin before turning to Ryan.

“Well, I don’t know you much yet mate, but if Gavin’s happy then I’m happy. And I’ll have plenty of time to get to know you, since I’ll be sticking around for a bit.” Dan offered Ryan his hand, and Ryan gave it a firm shake. 

“It’s nice to finally meet you properly, Dan.” The two men nodded, and from his seat Geoff groaned. All eyes turned to him where he sat glaring at his phone, before suddenly throwing his hands up.

“Jack just messaged me that the kitchen window can’t be replaced because there’s damage to the window frame. God damnit, I just had those windows put in!” Gavin snickered, and Geoff closed his eyes and took a slow, deep breath. 

“Alright. Thing one and thing two, take the rest of the night off, and tomorrow we’ll start up on the plans for the museum heist again. Got it?” Gavin and Ryan nodded, and Geoff turned his attention to Dan. “Gruchy, you’re coming with me to get you sorted out with papers and shit. You and Gavin can touch tips later, I want this shit done asap so we don’t forget.” Dan nodded, standing up, and Gavin shifted to grab his arm. 

“Come by tomorrow, B?” Dan nodded, a smile gracing his lips before turned to Geoff as the other man pulled himself out of the rocker. 

“Don’t die on your way home, Geoff.” Ryan teased, getting flipped off as Geoff made his way to the door. 

“Don’t choke on a dick tonight, Ryan.” Gavin made a distressed squawk, and Geoff left cackling, Dan following after him. 

“I mean, I don’t know if we’re quite up to dick choking yet, right?” Ryan’s tone was just serious enough to cause Gavin to turn his gaze to Ryan, nose wrinkling as Bond trotted over, jumping onto the couch to sprawl over the two men. 

“Ryan, no. Don’t give in to Geoff’s idiocy.” Ryan chuckled, pulling Gavin closer, and reached out to pat Bond’s neck. “You don’t mind that we’re staying, do you? Because we could find a flat tomorrow, if it’s going to be a bother, really.” Frowning, Ryan shifted to place a gentle kiss on Gavin’s temple. 

“I wouldn’t have asked you to stay if I didn’t want you to, Gavin. Really. It’ll be nice not to be alone when I come home.” Gavin smiled, and the two settled in as Ryan flicked on the t.v, Bond rolling around in their laps. 

“Although we might have to get a bigger place; I don’t think there’s enough space for me, you, and your dinosaur of a dog.”


End file.
